Vision Queen
by Lalaith Quetzalli
Summary: Seven years after the Great War, Peace Festivities turn into the preamble of a new war. A war that involves the Mystic Moon, a small unknown kingdom and its beatiful and mysterious Queen. Is there still a chance for Van and Hitomi to be together? Finished
1. Peace A Mysterious Queen

**Vision Queen**

_Authoress: Princess Lalaith _

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, nor any of its characters, I do own this fic, as well as every other I've written. This story has been written for mere fun, and with no economical interest so please don't sue me. Enjoy the fanfic.

Chapter 1.- Peace. A mysterious Queen.

There's the Milky Way, a part of the galaxy with 9 well-known planets, lots of moons, and stars; even if just one planet has known life: the Earth. And even then, there's one more planet, one that most people don't even know about: Gaea. A mystic world full of nature, animals, history and…magic. A planet that has a history no one knows fully, because it goes back hundreds of years. A world that divides in countries, that interact with each other in an almost perfect society, warriors, princesses, peasants, they all live together in that wonderful planet.

.---.

In one of the countries, in between the mountains and forests, Fanelia. A young man in his early twenties was reading through some papers, making sure everything was in order. It was, after all, his responsibility to leave everything ready before he left his country to attend the festivities in another country: Freyd.

"Van-sama!" a female voice called him from the entrance.

"What is it Merle?" the man asked turning his attention to the girl-cat standing before him.

"The messenger sent this." Merle told him, handing him a sheet of paper. "It's the list of the guests who have accepted the invitation to the festivities, so we know who'll be there."

Van nodded as his eyes scanned trough the page, he knew most of the guests who where attending, from Asturia, and other nearby kingdoms, but then one name called his attention.

"Her Majesty Iris Kanza?" he asked aloud.

"So it called your attention too." It was more a statement than a question. "Yes, Iris Kanza, the famous Queen of Kizanka. Famous mainly of all because no one has ever seen her."

Van nodded. He knew who that woman was, at least he knew what everyone else in Gaea: she was the queen of a small kingdom that had grown in the last years. In fact he had seen one of her messengers once, when she asked for permission for her people to occupy the valley where Zaibach's people had once lived. And he accepted, even when some of the members of his Council doubted, arguing that he should have first investigated who that queen and her people where, as they hadn't known about them until then.

"If I'm not mistaken this is the first time she's ever accepted the invitation to the Peace Festivities, right?" Van said.

"That's right." Merle nodded. "Never in the five years since the Kizanka kingdom became well known by the rest of Gaea had she or any of her people answered to an invitation, in any of the kingdoms."

"What do you think is the reason?" Van was really intrigued.

"Some say it's because she's too attached with her people, and so she prefers not to leave them." Merle said. "Others it's because it took them all this long to finally establish completely."

"But we've been having business with them since two years after they settled." Van reminded her. "They are the best in Technology in all Gaea, and sell it to everyone in the nearby kingdoms. Even if we haven't bought much of it, only for defense, to be ready for anything that may happen."

"There has been no need to buy weapons." Merle added. "After all, there hasn't been any battle since seven years a…"

The cat-girl stopped before finishing her sentence, but it was already too late, and she knew it, Van's thoughts had again reached those painful memories, of that single girl who will no way leave his mind and heart, who he wished to see each day, but he had never had the chance. Even in the seven years that had gone by already, no one had been able to make him forget her, even when some members of the Council insisted constantly in the need that he found a suitable bride, marry and have heirs, he paid them no heed. The only bride 'suitable' for him was one world away, and even though he had tried, hard, there was no way he could reach her. And that pained him to the very bottom of his soul.

"I'm sorry…" Merle murmured in a low voice.

"Don't worry." Van said petting her on the head. "It's not your fault I can't get her off my mind. I haven't forgotten her in this seven years, and it's likely I never will, even if it seems like she has forgotten about me."

"I don't think so Van-sama." Merle tried to lift his spirits.

"It doesn't matter anyway, because she'll always be in my heart, now and forever." He said melancholically. "My beloved girl of the Mystic Moon, my dear Hitomi…"

.---.

A long sigh was heard through the Great Hall of the Silver Palace, the home of Queen Iris Kanza and her counselors, in the highest hill of the Kizanka Kingdom.

"You've been in deep thought lately your majesty." A woman said approaching the queen.

"The counselors have retired, there's no need for formalisms." The queen replied.

"Then, will you tell me what's happening to you my friend?" the woman, lady in waiting and best friend of the queen, asked. "I'm worried, as well as Susumo, and your brother."

"I know, it's just that I've had too much things to think about lately." Iris said.

But both women knew it was a lie.

"You're regretting accepting the invitation to the Festivities in Freyd?" the lady asked. "You know we can still cancel and…

"No Yu, that's ok." Iris interrupted. "It's just that I've had too much things in my mind lately. Remembering everything that has happened since we arrived here."

"Yeah, five years is a long time." Yu nodded.

"And even then, this will be the first time we attend an event with the authorities of the other countries." Iris added.

"So that's what is bothering you." Yu guessed. "The Peace Festivities, I don't see why."

"You don't see why?" Iris sounded a little sarcastic. "That's a royal party, they expect kings and queens to be there."

"So?" Yu asked, she didn't understand what the problem was. "You are Kizanka's queen."

"Please Yu, until we came here I had never, ever even imagined to become a queen." She made a pause, considering what she had just said. "Ok, scratch that. Maybe I did consider before the possibility. But it's not the same. I wasn't born with this, I don't know how to act between royalty, I just came to be queen because…just because."

"You came to be queen because everyone thought it was the best." Yu told her sweetly. "After all, you saved us all. When all hope of a future seemed lost you raised and gave us a new opportunity, and it was our decision that for that you became our queen. And I don't think anyone, ever, in the whole Kizanka has ever reconsidered this decision."

"Even then, I'm not so sure accepting that invitation was a good idea after all." Iris insisted, there was a tone of nervousness in her voice her friend couldn't fully understand.

"You're afraid of the party, or of the people that will be in it?" she asked, and after a pause added. "Do you know anything about those festivities?"

"You already know the answer."

"So that's why you accepted?"

There was no answer, it wasn't needed.

"What we left behind five years ago is about to catch up with us, and we'll have to decide not just our future, but of those who surround us too."

Yu turned to see her best friend speak those words but got no explanation about them, the queen had already left.

"So it's happened again?" Yu's husband asked when he entered the Hall to see no one but his wife.

"Yes." Yu answered. "And it worries me. Because as you say it's happened before. Speaking in riddles, things no one but she can understand. Remaining in this castle throughout the years, even when invitation after invitation to other festivities arrived for her, she never accepted them."

"Until now." Her husband, Susumo, finished for her.

"She's knows something about it. Something's going to happen." Yu said seriously.

"Something?" Susumo asked confused. "Like what?"

"That she didn't say." Yu answered. "But she did say it has to do with our past, to our former home."

"But that means…" Susumo didn't even wish to think the end of the sentence.

"Problems." His wife did finish for him. "Big problems."

.---.

The next day the ship was ready to take them to Freyd. Queen Iris, along with her lady in waiting: Yu, the Commanding Officer of the army: Susumo, and some others, boarded the ship and began their journey to Freyd. As Kizanka indeed owned the best technology in all Gaea they reached their destiny in very little time, even being the kingdom farther away.

.---.

"Freyd welcomes you and wishes you a happy stay your majesty, as well as for your people." An herald spoke as those from the Kizanka ship arrived.

"It's an honor for all of us to be received here." Yu spoke for the queen. "Her majesty has asked me to request an audience with King Chid Zar Freid as soon as possible."

"His majesty is really occupied with the preparations for the festivities beginning tomorrow night." The herald said. "But we'll do what we can. Again be welcome to this castle, the maids will show you to your quarters, hope you enjoy your stay in our country."

"I'm sure we will." Yu said seriously.

"Thank you."

They were all surprised when Queen Iris uttered those words, the only she spoke before following the maids to the rooms she and her people had been assigned.

The servants bowed to her, not knowing what else to do.

And it was that everyone was intrigued by the surprising presence of the Queen of Kizanka, a woman who everyone in Gaea knew about, the ruler of the country that produced and sold the best technology; but at the same time the queen no one had ever seen personally.

And even now, Queen Iris was wearing a long lavender robe over her dress, with a semi-transparent veil that covered most of her features; that, along with the dim-light that was in the place made it impossible for those present to see the queen standing before them.

.---.

Once in their assigned rooms Yu decided to go and check on Queen Iris. The lady in waiting found her standing in the balcony, looking melancholically at the sight below.

"So long, and it remains the same." Iris murmured, more to herself than to anyone else.

"You had been here before?" Yu asked, interested at any new information.

"It was so long ago, and even then I remember it as if it had been yesterday." Iris said, still speaking to herself, not completely getting the fact that she was being listened. "I remember it perfectly well, even if it's highly probable they have forgotten it."

And just as she spoke she saw two figures entering the gardens: the first was a woman that had pink hair, a short dress and the oddest of all: strange ears and tail like those of a cat; and the second a handsome young man dressed in casual clothes and of messy dark hair and opaque eyes.

"Iris?" Yu asked for the third time.

Her friend had apparently 'lost' herself…again.

"Iris? Is everything okay?" Yu asked, concern reflected in her eyes.

"Fine. Lets get everything ready for tomorrow night." Iris said turning around and reentering the room.

She didn't seem to notice someone had turned in her direction just then.

.---.

In the gardens the King of Fanelia had stopped for a moment the persecution of his dear friend and almost-sister: Merle, to contemplate his surroundings. Until a strange force got his attention to a balcony a level above him, in which he saw a young woman in a light purple dress, with a veil over head, the sunlight hiding any details of her face or hair he could have used to discover her identity.

"Van-sama?" Merle asked returning to him.

Van turned to look at her for a second, before returning his attention to the balcony, although it was too late already, the woman was in that moment entering the room, followed by another with simpler clothes.

"Van-sama?" Merle asked again, worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yes Merle." Van answered. "Come one, we've got to go back for dinner."

"Yay! Dinner!" Merle cried out happily, and followed him back.

'Who may that woman be?' Van was asking himself meanwhile. 'I had never seen her before.' He sighed. 'And even then, she seems so familiar…'

.---.

The nest day the last of the representative members of all the countries like Daedalus, Chezario, Bashram, Egzardia and Asturia arrived to the castle. And that night, the feast.

Most of the guests were already in the room, discussing about the lateness of their most intriguing guest: Queen Iris.

"You know why she finally accepted an invitation?" one of the courtesans asked.

"They say it's because her counselors finally convinced her of having some social relationships with us." One of them asked.

"I heard it's because her counselors want her to get married." Another commented.

This called the general attention.

"You mean she isn't married?" one of the guests asked.

"No." the other answered. "She's a young queen, about 23, 24 years old. And they say she took the crown just before she asked for the Zaibach's lands, five years ago."

"That means she was nineteen!" One cried out amazed. "That's too young."

"Well, king Van Fanel took the throne about at the same age or a little younger if I'm not mistaken." Dryden Fassa, king of Asturia commented.

"And I became king when I was eight." Chid Zar of Freyd added. "What's the problem in queen Iris being queen since 19."

"She's a woman." One of the courtesans cried out as if it was obvious. "No woman has ever taken a throne at such a young age, less of all without a husband."

"Different country, different rules." Another said.

"Maybe too different." The Bashram's embosser commented between clenched teeth.

No one answered to that, they knew Bashram didn't like much the idea of the Kizanka kingdom having such a good technology, leaving Bashram behind (Bashram used to be the best in technology along with Zaibach before Kizanka appeared).

"And why is our distinguished guest late?" Queen Millerna Sara Aston de Fassa asked.

"Maybe she thought it twice and decided not to show herself in this party." One joked.

"Yeah." His companion added. "They say she's really ugly, that's why she didn't show up in yesterday's dinner, neither in today's meals."

"Maybe she had something else to do." Princess Eires, suggested.

And just before anyone could say something else there was a light knock on the door, before it opened to reveal four people. The first two were men, dressed in military uniforms in purple and dark blue: Kizanka's colors, they were Susumo and Mamoru, General of the Kizanka army, and commanding officer of the royal guard respectively. Behind them was Yu, accompanying her queen.

There was a deep silence, as the guests tried to see the newcomers carefully, but the light from outside prevented that from happening. Until the lady in waiting took away Queen Iris's coat, leaving everyone gasping.

Before them stood a young woman, of about 24 years old, shoulder-length brown hair and jade eyes, wearing a long light purple dress with long triangular sleeves and light pink slippers, a silver tiara with a single amethyst ran across her forehead.

"Presenting to you, Queen Iris Kanza of the Kizanka Kingdom." Susumo said seriously.

"A pleasure finally meeting you in person your highness." King Chid was the first to stand up to greet her.

"The pleasure is all mine king Chid, I deeply thank your hospitality and attentions toward me and my people." Iris spoke choosing her words carefully.

Yu knew it was hard for her to speak to royal people, but she also knew her friend and queen would do a wonderful job, just as she had since she had become queen.

"If you might solve our deepest mystery your highness." A man spoke. "We would like to know why such a wonderful woman and queen hadn't attended parties like this before."

"The reasons of my absence are various and not of your interest my lord." Iris answered as courteously as possible.

Everyone understood she was saying: shut-up-it's-not-your-business.

"You shall excuse Lord Dorek, your majesty, he sometimes doesn't act as the gentleman he's supposed to be." A man dressed in a Celestial Soldier uniform spoke.

Blond hair, light eyes, he was Allen Schezar, First Knight of Caeli. Next to him was a woman with his same characteristics, just that in an azure dress: Lady Selena Schezar.

"Apologies accepted." Iris said slowly.

Her eyes traveled across the room, looking at each and everyone in there. Stopping a couple of seconds at the young King Van Slanzar de Fanel, of Fanelia.

Until she heard some voices speaking in a low voice, her name made echo in her ears.

"I would appreciate very much gentlemen if you would stop talking about me behind my back." She said looking at the men directly.

"We're sorry your majesty." Both men said flushing, they never imagined they were being heard.

"I have a very accurate hearing, and sight." Iris declared. "And if you wish to know anything about my person, I think it would be best if you asked me."

Her words where direct, harsh but true, and no one said anything about them.

"One thing." Iris said, her tone of voice changing drastically to a sweet and calm one. "I would like to take this opportunity, even if it's a little late, to thank personally King Van Slanzar de Fanel for giving me and my people the opportunity to occupy the lands of Zaibach."

"We must be the ones thanking you my lady." Van replied. "The technology your people produce has been a great help to me and everyone in Fanelia."

"For that I'm glad." Iris said with a sincere smile.

This froze Van for a moment, as he felt a chill running through his spine.

"As long as you don't follow Zaibach's steps in trying to destroy us…" Lord Gorth, of Bashram, spoke coldly.

This seemed to make everyone silent again, as the young queen of Kizanka turned to him, fire burning in her green eyes.

"How do you dare…" she began, she was really indignant at the Lord's words. "We would never do such a thing as destroying Gaea. If we wished we could, that's right, just as much as you could, we all know your technology advances are really considerable, specially in weapons, even with some inventions you haven't yet spoke about in public."

This left the lord really puzzled, how could she know about things no one in his country had spoke yet?

"I have my ways of knowing things my lord." Iris said. "As much as I have my ways of acting, and believe me, betraying someone, and destroying a world is not in my plans. I would never do such a thing as go against those who helped me before, I'm not a traitor! I'm not Zaibach, I'm the queen of Kizanka, and I shall not permit such blasphemies against me and my people."

It seemed as if she was about to hit the embosser, but she didn't.

"We just got away of the destruction of our previous home, and you believe we would do such a thing as destroying our home, of killing our own people?" her tone of voice again changed drastically, she sounded sad, deceived. "This is why I don't like to attend royal events, because I hate it when others pretend to judge me and my people before knowing us. It's the worst anyone can do." She turned to the king Chid. "If you may excuse me, your majesty."

Chid nodded, noticing how altered she was.

"Thank you." Iris murmured with a bow.

And in the moment she turned around to leave Van would have swore he saw a tear falling to the floor.

Immediately after the doors closed, leaving Queen Iris, and her three companions out of the room.

"Did I say something?" Lord Gorth asked.

"Cynic." Selena murmured.

"Excuse me, my lady?" Lord Gorth asked, surprised of the young woman's words.

"You just accused her and her people of wishing to destroy Gaea, and you asked what did you say." Selena accused him seriously. "You definitely have no manners whatsoever. You don't deserve to be a representative of any kingdom."

"I won't let you speak to me that way girl." Lord Gorth began.

"And I won't let you insult my sister." Allen interrupted him.

"Choose your words carefully Lord Gorth, you aren't exactly liked around here." Another courtesan murmured as he drank his wine.

With that Lord Gorth preferred to leave the place.

"Well, that was an interesting conversation." Dryden commented to break the tense moment. "Don't you think so King Va…"

And that was when they noticed Van was gone.

.---.

"It can't be…it just can't…" Iris was sobbing on her bed.

"Iris…my friend…" Yu murmured trying to hug her.

"Leave me alone please." Iris told her.

"But, that's not a good idea, it would be best if I stay here and…" Yu began, really worried for her.

"Just leave me alone!" Iris ordered, a little harsher than she first intended.

"As you order." Yu nodded and left the room.

In the door her husband was waiting.

"Anything?" he asked her.

"No." she answered, shaking her head for extra emphasis, and with a low and deep sigh she added: "I think that coming here wasn't a good idea after all."

Susumo just embraced her lightly, trying to express his support trough that simple gesture.

"Thank you…" Yu murmured hugging him back.

"Why?" Susumo asked with a smile.

"For being with him, all this time." Yu answered. "Even when thinks got really difficult back home, you believed in me and in her, and helped us convince the rest."

"Everything was falling, I was so afraid of losing you." As Susumo spoke he held his wife's face tenderly with his hands. "And when you came to me, with that small ray of hope, I decided it was the only option."

"You could have saved yourself, you had the opportunity." Yu reminded him.

"No, no without you." Susumo replied. "Even if in that time we hadn't married yet, I loved you, I still do, and I would have never left you there to die. I preferred an opportunity to live somewhere else, with you, or to die alongside with you. In life or death, we'll always be together."

"I love you so much!" Yu cried out hugging him tightly and kissing him passionately.

"I love it when you get like that." Susumo said when they broke the kiss to breath.

Yu just laughed lightly, forgetting for a while about the state of her queen and friend, and kissed back her husband. They had very few times for them alone, and she wasn't about to le go this one. Even if she was still worried about Iris, Yu believed her queen could survived a few hours without her.

Yu's husband carried her bridal style and walked to their room, which wasn't too far away, just a couple of doors, and once in a click was heard as the door was locked.

.---.

A while later Iris decided to get some kind of distraction. And so she got dressed in a simple white dress along with an ivory long-sleeved robe (it was Autumn and the chilling breeze could get her sick). And then she walked outside the castle and into the gardens.

Once in the gardens she began walking slowly, images, glimpses, memories passed trough her mind too fast for her to specify a time, but she knew anyway they had happened. She then turned to the sky, where all the stars shone, there was also the moon, as still as always, and behind it a second moon, but this one seemed to be enveloped in a dark shadow.

_Flashback_

It was all chaos. Explosions, and screams all around. In every home the same news could e heard: 'The war is here. The war has finally reached us. This is our doom…'

Weapons all around, people shrieking, crying for those lost, yelling in panic, running for their lives, praying for some superior force to have mercy of them; even when they all knew everything was lost, the armies had finally entered their country and soon enough they would all be killed.

"Help…please, someone help us…" that was the prayer that could be heard everywhere. "Hope…"

_End of Flashback_

* * *

So here it is. The begining of another of my fanfics. Reviews telling me what you think about this chapter will be much apreciated. 

See you in the next chapter.


	2. Hopes Disturbing Memories

**Chapter 2.- Hopes. Disturbing memories.**

"Mom…Dad…so many people died there." Iris murmured to herself as she sat down next to a fountain.

Her reflection revealed to her what she tried so hard to hide: the pain and fear.

"All just because of the greed of some men who wished to rule above us all. They killed anyone who would get in their path, not caring if it was a soldier, a father, a mother, a child… It didn't matter to them, as long as they got what they wanted: power… I'm so tired of war…" she sighed sadly.

"Are you okay?"

Iris was really surprised when she noticed she wasn't alone. King Van Fanel was behind her, and he seemed to be a bit worried.

"Excuse me, I didn't notice I was talking aloud." Iris apologized.

"You lost your family in a war?" Van couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." Iris answered. "I lost my parents, uncles, aunts, and many friends. All the family I have now are Yu, her husband Susumo, and my brother."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Van said as a matter of fact.

"No one knows he's my brother." Iris explained. "He's the second in command of the army, and the Commanding Officer of the Royal Guard. His name is Mamoru."

"I see." Van nodded. "The war you talked about, is it the Great War?"

"No." Iris shook her head for extra emphasis. "That was seven years ago, this one was… afterwards…" she sighed again sadly.

An image of a city in disaster, smoke coming from everywhere as the houses burned, people crying and running away in panic, trying to escape the inevitable… Iris shivered at the thought, as her eyes darkened in pain.

"I'm sorry," Van apologized. "I didn't wish to bring painful memories to you."

"It wasn't your fault." Iris replied calmly. "You had no way of knowing what happened to me or my people."

"I know what it is to lose something because of a war, I know what it is like to see everything before you burn down without you being able to do anything about it. The impotence, the anger of knowing you have to stand back." Van murmured, almost angry with himself again.

"But that's our job isn't it?" Iris asked, a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "To stand back and let our people fight and then just run away, with the excuse of having a country to rule, even if half of it already died."

This seemed to hurt Van, he knew what she spoke about, he knew it perfectly well, he had felt it when he had to fly away from Fanelia while it was being burnt, just after Vargas died.

.---Flashback---.

"Hope…Great Lord give us hope…" some women kept praying in a half-destroyed temple.

A young woman was walking by them, trying to reach home as soon as possible when suddenly she felt it, the danger, dropping the bags she was carrying she immediately jumped over the fence that surrounded the temple and ran inside.

"Danger!" she cried out as she picked up two little kids. "Run! Now! Get out! Quick!"

She said nothing more and ran back outside the temple with both kids under her arms. Being followed immediately by most of the people who had been in the temple. She passed by the bags she had thrown but didn't stop, not until she was behind some trees. The people followed her there.

"What is it girl?" a woman, perhaps the mother of the children asked her puzzled.

"Get down!" she cried out and ducked behind the tree.

The kids, as most of the adults followed her instructions, and a second later there was an explosion, and the land beneath them shook violently. Cries were heard everywhere, from fear, or surprise.

And once the cloud of smoke and dust had settled they could all see nothing more than ruins of what seconds before was a temple.

"How?" the mother asked the girl.

.---End of Flashback---.

"I don't know." Iris continued. "I don't know why things always have to be this way. Wars shouldn't exist."

Van had to say she was right in that.

"For example." Iris continued. "In Bashram they celebrate their victory, that the alliance won above Zaibach in that Great War, but no one wins in a war. Many people died, full cities were destroyed, and those who survived still get nightmares at night."

"I never imagined I would heard anyone speaking like you do, my lady." Van said amazed.

"You get to speak and act this way after you've been through everything I've been." Iris replied. "And I can see in your eyes you too are a troubled person, a past that won't stop haunting you, no matter how hard you try."

Van was really surprised again at her words. How could she know so much? How?

.---.

"Your majesty, Queen Iris Kanza is here." A guard announced to Chid, in his office.

"Let her in, and you are dismissed." Chid told him.

The guard nodded, and after letting the young queen in he closed the door and went down the halls in silence.

"So, I understand you wanted to speak to me." Chid say, going down right to business.

"That's right." Iris nodded. "First of all I would like to apologize for any problems my sudden departure may have caused in last night's dinner."

"Don't worry, I understand perfectly well why you preferred to leave the place my lady." Chid told her sincerely. "Lord Gorth is not a man much liked in any country, but for everyone's sake…"

"I know." Iris nodded. "But it's not about Lord Gorth's attitude that I wanted to talk with you."

"I see. So?" Chid asked, letting her speak.

"I know many people, not just in Bashram have doubts of me and my people, and they have good reasons for it." Iris said. "I was in the Great War, and I know what Zaibach did to everyone."

"If you don't mind the question my lady." Chid interfered slowly. "How come if you were in the Great War, we knew nothing about you and your people until two years later?"

"That's because in that time we had other lives." Iris answered. "It's hard to explain, but in that time we were part of another country, too far away from here for you to know about it anyway."

"Gaea is really big." Chid commented.

"Yeah, big indeed." Iris nodded, not giving much importance to that comment. "The thing is two years afterwards we had another war, and just when we were about to be destroyed, I decided to try and save as much as I could. That's when we got to ask for the lands that once belonged to Zaibach, and our kingdom: Kizanka, was born."

"I see." Chid didn't understand much of what she was saying.

He knew nothing of that second war she spoke about, and anyway in that time he, as almost everyone, had been too occupied with the reconstruction of their own kingdoms, that a war in a far away kingdom had no effect in him at the moment, now however.

"I have to say that something in Lord Gorth's words is true." Iris added. "In a way Zaibach is still alive, some of their survivors asked us for the opportunity to continue living in those lands. And you must understand that we were no one to deny them that favor. We know what it's like to lose everything on a war without having any blame of it, we wanted a second chance as most of them. So now we all live happy, they have done nothing against us, or against anyone. And in fact most of those Zaibach survivors chose to work the land, instead of helping us with the technology. I think that after all they've been through the less they want is to see more machines."

"You also said about some war-technology Bashram has, and has said nothing about." Chid reminded her.

"Yes, but that's off the topic." Iris said casually. "No matter the technology they have, I don't think they would dare to go against Gaea."

Chid nodded, believing it to be that way too.

"The thing is, my lord, that even if nor Bashram nor Zaibach is any longer a threat to Gaea, there is still danger upon this world, and upon us all." Iris tone of voice was suddenly serious, almost fatalist.

And that didn't help Chid ease his thoughts.

"What do you mean my lady?" Chid asked, getting nervous all of a sudden.

"A new danger is approaching, an enemy rising, that I can feel. Having destroyed their own world, they wish nothing more than to reconstruct their society." Iris spoke, as if in trance.

"That shall not be so bad." Chid said, trying to calm himself. "Reconstructing is the same we all do after a war."

"That's true my lord, but they're different, much different." Iris insisted. "They will stop at nothing to get what they desire: land, richness, and power. They'll do whatever they need to get everything they once had again, and no matter what gets in their path, they'll destroy it: objects and lives alike."

"You mean…?" Chid was too nervous to even finish the statement.

"They'll come to conquer Gaea." Iris finished for her.

Chid sighed tiredly. Not a war, not again, not when everything seemed to be going well finally. The previous night they had just been celebrating the peace, and now this.

"Wait." Chid interrupted his own thoughts. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"As I said last night, I have ways of knowing things." Iris said mysteriously. "I can assure you my sources are to be trusted. Gaea is in danger, as are all of us. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Chid asked apprehensively. "The least I want now is to begin a war, when we just celebrated peace last night. To push my people into another confrontation when they're still recovering from the last…"

"I know, and as you I don't wish for a war to begin." Iris nodded.

"Then, what are we going to do?" Chid asked.

"I will go meet them, in the place my sources have told me they'll be in one week." Iris answered. "I hope to be wrong in my reasoning, and that we can dialogue and come to a peaceful solution. If not…we better be prepared."

Chid gulped at that, he knew exactly what she meant.

"That's the reason I came here in the first place." She added. "To prevent you, to tell you to be careful and get ready. If my plan of talking out with them fails, Freyd, along with Asturia, Fanelia, and everyone in Gaea must be ready. I don't wish for another catastrophe to fall upon us all."

Chid immediately nodded to her as she walked to the door. He sighed inwardly; he was barely fifteen, and two wars, too young anyway.

"You're indeed a young king." Iris spoke, without turning around, as if she had heard his thoughts. "But you're also a wonderful governor, and I know you'll be able to pull Freyd through this. With your permission, your majesty."

Chid just nodded as she left, leaving him in deep thought.

.---.

Through the day Queen Iris told Yu they were leaving the next morning; and the lady in waiting nodded and left to give instructions to the few servants that had accompanied them to get everything ready for their departure. They were all surprised by it, but never questioned the decision, notice had gotten to them about the disliking events of the previous night.

"Why have you given instructions to leave already?" a voice suddenly asked as a man entered the room.

He had dark green eyes, and tousled brown hair; wearing the military uniform of the Kizanka kingdom.

"Sister…" Mamoru insisted.

"Because it is time for us to leave." Iris answered as she made sure she packed everything.

"But we barely arrived two days ago." Her brother insisted.

"You were there last night." Iris reminded him. "Leaving is the least we can do after that."

"Yeah but…" Mamoru was still insisting. "We're not leaving just because and old man tried to insult our people, are we?"

"My businesses here are over." Iris said firmly.

"Business?" Mamoru asked. "I thought this was supposed to be a party, not a business meeting."

"Mamoru we must leave this place at once. Get back to Kizanka and prepare everything." Iris told him, facing him seriously.

"Prepare? What for?" Mamoru asked.

"A war." Iris stated, a sad tone in her voice.

"What!" Mamoru cried out. "No! Not a war… Not again…No!"

"I'm sorry…" Iris sighed sadly.

"It's not your fault." Mamoru told her trying to calm down.

"In a way it is." Iris replied. "I knew this was going to happen, I should have done something sooner."

"So that's why we came." Mamoru finally understood.

His sister nodded.

Mamoru just sighed, his sister was like that, so quite and mysterious, she just spoke when she thought it was needed, and he was sure she knew a lot more things than just the ones she said aloud.

"We're going to be the ones to stand against this enemy first." Iris told her brother seriously. "We're the best prepared for something like this."

"That's why you insisted in getting all those machines, all that technology ready?" it was more a statement than a question. "Even after being through a war, that's the reason."

"I told you I knew this was going to happen since some time ago now." Iris repeated. "We're going to be the first to stand to that enemy, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to defeat it. And in case the worst happens, the rest of the kingdoms must be alert. I've talked to King Chid and warned him, the rest will depend on him."

"And on how good our machines are." Mamoru added. "Trust me sister, we'll be alright."

"I hope." Iris murmured.

.---Flashback---.

"It might be our last hope …" she sighed looking at herself in the mirror. "But can I really handle such a responsibility?"

While she was in deep thoughts, the world continue moving around her, which wasn't exactly a relieving thought. The planet was in the bridge of death, it wouldn't be long before it was absolutely destroyed. It had been months already since the World-Evacuation-Plan took effect. A selected group of almost a million persons had been chosen to leave the planet in one of their most greatest and recent inventions. And they hadn't been of the fortunate enough to be chosen.

"What do you mean you refused!" her best friend cried out at her fiancée.

"What I just told you." He replied. "They wanted me in that ship and I said no I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Are you crazy!" Yu cried out at him. "You could have saved yourself. Now you're gonna die!"

"If it's with you, I have no regrets." Susumo assured her, and broke their argument with a passionate kiss.

She saw as both her friends kissed deeply, tears streaming from Yu's eyes, both from the happiness of having Susumo still with him, and the sadness of knowing they were all condemned to irremediable death. Unless…

'My parents died months ago…when that terrible explosion happened downtown…' she sighed sadly. 'If I had just been faster, I could have saved them…'

In that moment the door opened and her brother entered.

"I'm home!" he cried out in a monotone voice.

'Brother…' she murmured to herself.

And then it clicked in her head. If she hadn't had the opportunity to save her parents, at least she would try to do so with her brother and best friends. And whomever might believe and support her.

"Have there had been any news?" the young boy asked the other three.

"Just what we know." Susumo told him seriously. "All boards are closed, and the other country will shot us that missile unless our government surrenders."

"And that will never happen." Yu added.

"So we're dead." The young one sighed.

They weren't sad, nor angry; they had gone as far as to accept they were condemned, they would die in a few months and there was nothing no one could do about it. Unless…

"No." her tone of voice was firm, and it surprised them all, they had believed her to be asleep.

"What?" he asked. "Are you okay sis?"

"We aren't dead yet." She said seriously. "And there's a way for us not to be."

"What?" Susumo and Yu were puzzled.

"Sister, I think you're hallucinating again." His brother was worried for her. "Our country is going to be destroyed. There's no way of saving ourselves."

"Yes there is." She insisted. "We'll leave this place, and go far, far away."

"And how do you plan that we do that." Her brother asked sarcastically. "The ships left since more than a month ago."

"There's another way." She replied. "Maybe you won't believe me. But there's a way, of saving ourselves, and all of those who may believe what I'm about to say."

"Well say it." Yu said.

And so she explained them what she had in mind. It was something crazy, in the bridge f insane, and it was likely that they wouldn't come unharmed out of it; but in their current situation, even such a temerarious plan was worth a try.

"It's our hope…" she murmured looking at the sky. "Our only hope…"

.---End of Flashback---.

.---.

King Van Slanzar de Fanel was really surprised when being informed of what Queen Iris had told King Chid Zar Freid. It wasn't as if he hadn't suspected something was going on since noticing the surprising acceptance of the mentioned queen to the invitation to the Peace Festivities. But what they were telling him now that was going on was beyond anything he might have been imagining; beyond anything anyone might have been imagining.

"She seemed really serious on this Van." Chid told the other king seriously, maybe too serious for a fifteen year old.

Indeed Chid Zar Feid was the youngest King a kingdom in Gaea had ever had. He had been in the need to mature too young, almost to the point where he had no childhood, but everything be for the good of his nation, of his people. He had soon learned to be quiet, calm, intelligent, and sort out any upcoming problem with as much diplomacy as he could, and he did well. But still, it tired him too much.

"Did he say who her informants were?" Allen asked.

As always, right to the point, he always wished he could be of more help to the young king, but there wasn't much he could do except what involved strategies and fighting talents. Sometimes the Caeli Knight wished he could just forget any tact or rules and tell Chid he was his true father, that he would always be there to help him, but such a thing wasn't allowed. So Allen had to remain there, just a loyal knight, helping the young king in material things, and dreaming, of one day holding him as his son, the product of the love he had for the deceased Marlene.

"No." Chid shook his head. "But she believes they're right. And in her way of speaking it also gave me the impression that she knew exactly who the enemy was, and that gave her even more security in having to be her and her people the firsts to fight it."

"But if it's as bad as you're telling us, then she and her kingdom are in great danger!" Selena cried out almost in panic.

She had been one of the most affected by the Great War seven years back. Even now she hadn't forgotten about her 'alter-ego' Dilandou Albatou, whom still caused her nightmares once in a while. Even if after the war she had decided to give a better use to those abilities she had acquired, and became a Heaven Knight, the first woman to ever bear such a title.

"We must help her." Queen Millerna of Asturia, who was also present, said firmly.

Next to her was her husband: King Dryden Fassa, a former-merchant and very wealthy man who had used most of his richness to raise Asturia after the Great War. He who had once been a womanizer and changed for the love of his wife, who at first believed him to be nothing more than a crown-seeker, but ended falling deeply in love with him, asking him to marry her, even after he had accepted to break their compromise so she could be free, to be with the man he had crush with before.

"It's not that easy Millerna." Allen spoke seriously. "This situation, if a war is really going to happen, we'll need men, and weapons, an army. And that means you need to return to Asturia and assemble your army."

"And it would be best if we warned Egzardia, Bashram, and the rest of the small kingdoms too." Selena suggested. "To tell them to be ready for a possible new Great War."

They all sighed at the idea.

"Then Fanelia will be the first to go to fight, in the aid of Kizanka." Van said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Chid asked getting everyone's attention.

"We all know Fanelia's the closer kingdom to Kizanka." Van explained. "And if things were to get out of their hands we're the nearest to them, and thus the best to help them in an emergency. And of course if thing do get to big we will also are the next kingdom those enemies would attack."

The rest had to admit he did have a point.

"Even then." Millerna said uneasily. "It's too dangerous."

"It'll be worst if we just sit and wait." Van retorted. "I won't wait and see how that kingdom falls."

"The kingdom or the queen?" Dryden asked with a strange gleam in the eye.

But Van's look immediately changed his mind, it was obviously there was just one person for him, even if she wasn't even there.

"Anyway." Van continued. "I have my samurai army, even if most of them are young, they're well trained, and I'll wake up Escaflowne. Whatever is needed to stop that enemy."

"Then I'll go to the Castello Fortress and get my men ready. We'll catch up with you in few days." Allen said.

"And I'll be with you." Selena added.

"No." Allen cut her. "You'll go back to Asturia, and lead the Asturian army in my place."

In a way Selena was mad at him for wanting to leave her behind, but in the other she knew her brother just wanted to protect her, like he had swore her after the Great War he would; and besides leading the Asturian army was a great responsibility, and if she was being given that position, it was a great honor. She turned to look at the King and Queen of her kingdom, and they nodded, giving their approval.

"Then we must leave at once." Van said standing up immediately. "Thank you for your hospitality Chid. Lets hope next time we're in a better situation."

"Lets hope." Chid repeated with a nod.

It seemed they were supporting everything in mere hopes. And that wasn't a good thing.

.---.

.---Flashback---.

"But you've got to believe me, all I've said is true!" she said in a high voice, trying to get all the people around her to trust her, which seemed almost impossible.

"You must be really out of your senses girl." One man said. "What you are telling us is impossible. Just as it is impossible for us to save ourselves now. All the ships are gone, that bomb will explode in less than a month and we'll be nothing more than ashes over ruins of what once was our home."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic?" Yu stepped in.

Her friend turned to her with a thankful gesture, but said nothing to her.

"Is it so hard for you to believe we aren't as lost as you want to believe?" she asked in a lower tone of voice. "Why don't you want to accept that there's still a chance for us to save ourselves?"

"Why do you insist in giving us non-existent hopes?" a man retorted. "You just illusion our children, and once they see that missile above our heads and they understand it was all a lie, they'll feel even more miserable."

"If an illusion, as you call it, may brighten up our last days, I don't see the problem." She said calmly. "And this is no illusion, what I've said is as real as any of us. You just need to believe."

"I believe." A young voice said.

It was a girl, a couple of years younger than Yu, and she was firm in what she had just said.

"Look around." She spoke aloud. "Our home is destroying, what harm does it do to believe there's a chance of surviving this and finding a new home to live on? If it doesn't work, at least it took our thoughts away from our death for some time; but if it does work…"

No one needed her to finish that statement.

"Fine." A woman spoke. "I believe too."

Immediately afterwards more people added to that voice, one by one, some of them still unsure, but they really wanted, with all their forces, to believe there was still a chance.

"Who are you?" a man suddenly asked.

"What?" she was surprised by his sudden question.

"Here you are, talking to us, offering a second chance, trying to convince us we will survive the apocalypses, and we still don't know who you are." The man explained. "I think we would like to know the name of who has taken the responsibility of saving us."

She smiled at him, knowing that she had finally gained their trust. With his words she could feel the great weight she had loaded upon herself, saving them all, but she knew she could do it, she would do it.

"You may call me…" everyone paid attention to her words. "Iris…"

.---End of Flashback---.

* * *

So, I hope this chapter clears some minds, the explanation on how Iris and company got to Gaea. I know there are still some doubts, but those will be cleared in the next few chapters. 

About the questions and guesses the reviewers have been doing, I can't answer them, it would blow up some surprises. But I can say that Iris herself will answer some of them in the following chapters.

Please if you read this leave a review, I'm losing faith in this story, having so few reviewers. I need you people!

See you in the next chappie.


	3. Loneliness Tears for the Past

**Chapter 3.- Loneliness. Tears for the Past.**

Queen Iris was revising some papers, making sure everything was in order. Suddenly a young woman, about 21 years old burst into the room.

"Your majesty, the enemy, is coming from the East!" she said.

The woman, slim figure, tall, of long, curly aqua hair and lavender eyes, she was Queen Iris advisor, and Mamoru's fiancé, her name was Riha Shizana (she had been the first to believe Iris when they were all offered the opportunity of surviving).

"Calm down Riha, what is it?" Iris asked. "The enemy is supposed to be coming from the West, not the East, and not until tomorrow."

"I don't know Lady Iris, but it is coming, right now." Riha insisted. "A big, metal dragon."

"Dragon?" Iris repeated.

"The army is waiting for your order to open fire." Riha finished.

"Don't." Iris said seriously.

Riha was surprised.

"That dragon is no enemy." Was all Iris said before immediately walking out of the room and to the castle's entrance.

.---.

In the entrance Van had just landed with Escaflowne, and about a dozen soldiers were surrounding him with strange metallic spears that seemed to expel sparks from the tip.

"Lower your weapons." Someone ordered from behind.

The soldiers were really surprised when seeing their queen walking to them, immediately followed by Riha.

"Pardon the unannounced arrival your majesty." Van excused himself as he jumped off Escaflowne.

Behind him Merle too jumped off the metal-dragon, looking around her in fear.

"You are dismissed soldiers, everything's okay here. If I need you you'll be called." Iris said to the guard. "Riha, please go to Mamoru and take him the papers I just signed, he'll know what to do with them."

Riha nodded and walked away.

"Is everything okay?" Yu asked running outside the castle.

"Yes." Iris answered. "Please, could you order some tea for me and the guests?"

"Immediately." Yu nodded and headed to the kitchens.

"Come on, follow me." Iris told Van and Merle, and then added. "Don't worry Lady Merle, no one's going to do you any harm. You're safe here."

"Those sticks the soldiers had…" Merle began.

"They're electric-spears." Iris explained as they walked. "They're used to deliver energy-blasts to anyone that might touch them, we use them specially when there are problems with robots, the sudden burst of energy leaves them useless."

Meanwhile Van was looking around him. Most of the houses were made with stones and wood, but at the distance he could notice some metal things, and machinery.

"We work the technology and machines outside the capital, so as not to affect our citizens with any mishap that might happen." Iris explained Van's unasked wonder. "But anyway, you haven't yet told me what you are doing here in Kizanka, unannounced and uninvited, even without being in too many social gatherings I know that's considered rude."

"And I apologize greatly for that." Van immediately said. "But we were told by King Chid what was going on and it was my decision to come and help."

"I appreciate very much the intention, but am afraid I can't accept." Iris said.

"But Master Van is the best with Escaflowne, no one can defeat him, how can you not want his help!" Merle cried out.

"Merle…" Van began.

Just then they arrived to the study and Iris made them a motion for them to sit in some chairs. Yu went in, left the tea and retired again.

"Don't worry majesty." Iris said without giving much importance to Merle's comment. "I know she's right and that you are a very good warrior, and it's not useless pride, as you might be thinking. But the fact that you're the king of Fanelia, and Fanelia will need you. If anything might go wrong here in Kizanka, you have a kingdom to look after."

"Didn't we talk about this two days ago?" Van asked.

Iris nodded, she remembered well enough.

"And after that you still expect me too again sit back and do nothing to be of help?" Van felt somehow offended.

"It's not about sitting back..." Iris began.

"If it's about being a king." Van interrupted her. "You are a queen, you too should stay back, for your people."

"I wasn't born a queen, I wear a crown because they chose me to take this place." Iris said casually. "And if I were to be gone, they would chose someone else, as easy as that. So as you can see, I'm not as essential to this country, as you're to yours."

"You speak as you wished your death…" Merle murmured with a tinge of fear.

"Many times I've wished to die, to be reunited with all those persons I've lost." Iris spoke sadly, as if forgetting she had guests in the room. "But now is not one of those times. I have a kingdom to look after. And I'll do whatever I can for them, no matter the cost."

"Don't you think the cost might be less if you accept my help?" Van proposed.

"It's not my intention to be rude, but I suggest that tomorrow at first hour you leave to your kingdom, things might get ugly after noon." Iris said standing from her place.

Suddenly something shook violently the earth. Merle fell from the chair she was sitting in, Van had some difficulties in remaining straight in his sitting place, and Iris had to hold onto the column next to the wall so as not to fall.

Seconds afterwards everything was back to normal. Iris immediately pushed some buttons in a strange device on her wrist.

"Riha! Yu!" she called.

Seconds later both women burst into the room. The later still looking a little dizzy.

"What happened?" Riha asked.

"That's exactly what I want to know." Iris replied. "What was that?"

"Besides it being the worst earthquake I've felt in my whole life…" Yu began. "Susumo went to investigate."

A few minutes later Susumo entered the place, followed immediately by Mamoru and two of the guards.

"What happened?" Yu was the first to ask her husband.

"An explosion, in the South road." One of the guards said seriously. "Our communications with any kingdoms in that direction is impossible, and the following shaking left the East road in bad shape too. So you could say we're completely aisled from the rest of Gaea."

"And the people?" Riha asked.

"As the Queen Iris had already ordered for them all to be brought into the capital, they're all fine." Another guard said. "Just some scared, but we're already sorting that out."

"So we just have to take care of the roads." Iris murmured.

"It seems just as if we had been aisled on purpose." Susumo commented. "As if someone wanted us to be completely alone."

"A war tactic." Van step in.

"But who did it?" Yu asked.

"Our enemy." Susumo answered.

"What makes you be so sure?" Iris asked.

"The explosion." Mamoru finally stepped in, everyone turned to him. "It was caused by a bomb, a KR-47."

"What!" Iris cried out. "It's impossible."

"No it isn't. And you know it." Mamoru insisted.

"Not again…" Iris murmured, collapsing into her armchair, she seemed to be lost in thoughts, in painful memories.

Flashback

She stood up violently, accidentally throwing back the chair in which she had been sitting just a few seconds before. She had just seen it clearly in her mind, the same death and tragedy she had been dreaming for weeks, the nightmares that made her prefer being awake, than seeing it again and again. But there was one difference, this time it had been no dream.

"Miss, are you alright?" a woman asked her worriedly.

But just before she could answer the ground under them shook violently, throwing almost everyone around to the floor. She had to hold tightly to the desk before her so as not to fall.

All the girls began screaming in panic. Some tried to stand up and run, but it seemed impossible. Others wondered how an earthquake of that magnitude was possible in that place. And some more wondered if it had really been an earthquake.

And just then something called their attention, smoke, thick black smoke coming from near the limits of their city.

"Is everyone ok?" the same woman that had worried for her asked everyone around.

Some answered affirmatively, others remained silent, afraid.

She just roused to her feet and ran as fast as she could with just one thing in mind: to reach home.

'Mom…Dad…please be ok…please let everything be alright…'

But in the bottom of her heart she knew not everything would be alright.

End of Flashback

"Iris!" Yu cried out running to her side. "Are you alright?"

She didn't get an answer, she didn't even hear Yu speaking to her, just one thing was on her mind, one image, as clear as the day: a metallic cylinder with red letters that clearly read: KR-47.

"Sister!" Mamoru called kneeling next to her.

"What's happening to her?" Susumo asked.

It was well known for them this wasn't the first time Iris got in that kind of trance-state.

"She's remembering." Mamoru said sure of himself.

"Remembering?" Riha asked. "What?"

"The day our family died. Along with most of our friends." Mamoru explained.

"The day panic filled our city, and everyone said the Apocalypses had begun." Susumo added understanding.

"The bomb." Yu finished for them.

The others nodded.

While Van and Merle just stood there, not quite understanding what was happening.

Flashback

She was running as fast as her body could take her, faster than she had ever run. The adrenaline and anxiety coursing through her body giving her a speed she didn't know she possessed.

Suddenly she stopped abruptly. She was standing just a few meters away of what used to be her neighborhood, but from it, nothing was left but ruins.

'No!' her mind yelled in panic as she sprinted off again.

She ran between rocks, ashes, and half-burned pieces of wood, until she finally reached what used to be her house…nothing was left.

"NO!" she cried out in deep pain.

She walked through the remains, trying to keep her hopes, but it was impossible not to despair when watching such a sight. And then she saw it, the less thing she wished to see. In between the ashes laid a golden necklace…her mother's necklace.

She couldn't even scream, she was in absolute shock, her body collapsed to the ground in deep pain, and she cried, cried as she never in her whole life had cried. As she understood it all: she had no one left in the world, she was alone.

End of Flashback

"Alone…" Iris whispered.

"What?" Yu reacted when listening to her voice.

"Alone…" she repeated.

"What is she saying?" Susumo asked.

"I have no one." Iris continued.

Mamoru kneeled next to her, and listened intently:

"Alone…I'm completely alone…"

"No, you aren't." Mamoru denied. "You have me, I'm your brother, and I'll always remain with you. And you have Yu, and Susumo, and Riha. We'll never leave you alone."

Iris began crying in her brother's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably at the memories.

"I swear I'll never forgive the responsible of making my sister suffer in such a way." Mamoru said angrily. "When I have the first opportunity to kill him I will, I won't doubt, I'll kill him with my own bare hands."

Yu continued soothing her, helping Mamoru calm her pain and tears. Susumo just stood behind them, same as Riha, there was nothing they could do.

The guards had already left, as if sensing that what was going on was a bit personal.

Van didn't know what to say. He had never imagined someone like Queen Iris could have gone through so much. When he first met her he saw her as a cold, calculative woman who had everything anyone could wish, who didn't care what others think; after talking with her he discovered she did had feelings, deep inside a stone-covered heart, just like his, and that she was really mature and centered to her age, just what a good queen should be. But he had never imagined seeing her like this, so fragile, so vulnerable…so…human.

.---.

Next morning the castle was submerged in movement. Everyone running from one place to the other. While Queen Iris supervised everything and at the same time insisted to King Van that he should leave her kingdom before it was too late.

"You must leave at once!" Iris insisted for the umpteenth time in the last hour.

"No." Van replied.

"Don't you understand you'll likely be killed if you stay here?" Iris said getting desperate. "It's too dangerous."

"They won't kill us." Van assured her. "I'll pilot Escaflowne and we'll be able to defeat them all."

For a second Iris's eyes darkened, but it was just an instant, and nobody seemed to notice.

"And when Escaflowne is damaged you'll die." Iris insisted. "Even with al the technology we have here, we aren't from Ispano, we won't be able to repair Escaflowne and…"

"How do you know Escaflowne was made by the Ispano clan?" Merle asked.

"And that if Escaflowne is damaged I get hurt too?" Van added.

Iris suddenly stood silent, not knowing how to answer to those questions.

"As I already said before, I have my ways of knowing things." Iris finally said. "And I can tell you, the enemies that will be here in a short time are worst than Zaibach, maybe even than Lord Dornkin. Even if they don't have an "Alternating Fate" Machine, they have the worst weapons you will ever imagine."

"If it is so what makes you think you'll be able to stand a chance, alone?" Merle asked.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.

"Because our technology has the same base." Iris answered.

Van and Merle didn't know what to say. Merle, being as impatient as she had always been, began pacing around the room, and got distracted by a strange metal device with buttons.

"What's this?" Merle asked pushing one of them.

Suddenly a small light turned on in a machine in the side of the room, at the same time some strange music filled the place.

"Yay!" Merle cried out scared.

"What's that?" Van asked at the same time.

"It's music." Iris answered. "Like the ones you play with instruments, just that this one is recorded in a disc, like this."

She took out a small box and showed them the shining disks.

"Wait a minute…" Van murmured suddenly. "I know I've seen disks like those before."

"What?" Merle asked.

"Yes." Van insisted. "When we were on Asturia, Hitomi bought one that looked just like those, she said it was a CD and that they were popular on Mystic Moon. Here in Gaea we have never used any of those."

Merle turned immediately to Iris, eyes wide, mouth opened, waiting for an explanation.

"That means you are…" Merle began. "…from…from the Mystic Moon?"

The atmosphere was heavy, the tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, and the silence was almost deafening. No one dared say a word. Until…

"Iris!" a voice cried out entering. She noticed the guests. "Sorry for the interruption your majesty, mi lady." She bowed in apology.

"What is it Riha?" Iris asked.

"Yu sent me to inform you that the ships have been spotted, they're about an-hour sound-speed from us." Riha answered. "The soldiers are on alert. They wish to know if there will be any change in the tactics."

"No." Iris answered. "We'll proceed as planned."

"As you wish." Riha nodded, bowed once more and left in silence.

"Excuse me my lord." Iris spoke. "But as you can see vital matters are approaching us, and I shall go take care of them. Maybe we should leave this conversation for later."

Iris was about to leave the room when…

"No."

Van's answered surprised both women.

"You have many explanations to give Queen Iris." Van said, so serious it scared. "And you should give them now."

Iris looked at him straight in the eye, almost as if feeling he was threatening her authority. Merle was almost sure she would kick them both out her kingdom, even with the war one step away. But instead the young queen just let herself fall on her armchair.

"Fine." She said, motioning for them to sit down as well. "You want to talk. Talk we shall. But I warn you, you might not like what I will say."

Van didn't like at all the way she spoke, but wasn't going to stay with the curiosity, so he just nodded, and waited for her to begin talking. If he had known ahead what he would hear in the following hour, he might have never insisted in her talking.

"It is true I once belonged to what you call the Mystic Moon, I call it Earth." Iris began.

With that sentence Van was reassured she was from there, just those who were called that moon Earth.

"My people too, most of them were once from there." Iris continued. "But that was a long time ago, very long. We came here five years ago, when we had no place else to go. Coming here was our last hope of salvation."

"Salvation from what?" Merle asked.

"From total destruction." Was Iris answer.

And with her words Merle felt the hairs of her tail straightening, as a cold chill ran down her spine.

"Six years ago on my planet began a terrible war." Iris explained. "We called it World War III."

"Three?" Van asked surprised.

"Yes." Iris answered. "Twice before there had been wars, world wide wars. It means that all the countries in the world are involved in it. Just like the Great War of Gaea. The thing is that this war was very different. We don't know exactly who began it, nor why, but when we knew it people were attacking each other, missiles detonated, buildings falling, entire cities burning, the whole world was coming down. The chaos was terrible, no one knew who to trust. Some people would be killed just because of accusing somebody of being the cause of the disaster."

Van gulped, things sure were bad on Queen Iris's former home.

"Then, it got worse." Iris continued. "The earth resented all the weapons used, all the bombs and explosives, and that was when natural disasters began. Earthquakes, inundations, tsunamis, terrible electric-storms, and many more things. Everyone said the Apocalypses had come, the end of the world was near. That was when the government of three countries: United States, Russia and Japan made a pact. They reunited their best workers and built a special ship that would be able to get a million people out of the Earth to be saved. In the rest of the years the things would get worse from one day to the other. And the government chose those who were to be saved; politicians, royalty, courtesans, scientists, artists, and other important people. In that time there was some kind of mafia, people who would kill others and get their place just to get an opportunity to save themselves. Justice was forgotten, the police didn't even care about it, you could steal something, or even kill someone and no one would do anything about it. When the results came, as you can imagine, I wasn't between the fortunate enough to be chosen. Susumo was though, but he declined. He loved, and still loves Yu too much to leave her."

Merle sighed almost dreamily, even with the terrible story, that detail of the true love between Queen Iris's lady-in-waiting and her husband was too cute to be missed.

"So you were all condemned to death." Van understood. "That's terrible!"

"It is." Iris nodded. "But we had gone as far as accepting it. It was our destiny to die with our planet. At least that was at the beginning. But when I saw Yu and Susumo together, understood what he had sacrificed to be with his beloved, I knew I couldn't give up, not yet. And so, it was then that it occurred to me the opportunity of coming to Gaea."

"How did you bring them here?" Van asked. "How did you even know Gaea existed?"

"Well…" Iris said, not quite knowing how to explain it. "Lets just say I'm not as normal as I seem to be."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Merle asked.

"It is supposed to mean whatever you want it to mean." Iris answered.

The chose of words was too confusing for Merle to even try to understand it.

"It took me a while to convince everyone that what I was saying was true, not just some terrible hallucination." Iris continued. "Finally when thy believed me we got together, connecting our thoughts, our wish for a new opportunity to leave. And…we appeared on Gaea." She sighed. "To be true the reason for which I didn't go in person to ask for this lands was because I was currently 'out', in a state we call a coma. My body was there but my mind was somewhere else, almost as if I were asleep. I was almost sure I would never wake up."

"You knew that would happen to you?" Van asked surprised.

"Yes." Iris nodded. "Such a trip, from one planet to another, that couldn't even be seen, was too a hard task. And besides, a part of me was linked to the earth, which meant I knew everything that happened after our departure. How an atomic bomb turned half my country to dust. Then what was a prototype of massive-destruction, went wrong, and almost a third part of Asia was infected with a strange virus that killed every living creature in few weeks. Some preferred to kill themselves for the horrors they were living; others made desperate attempts, invading military headquarters, to get some kind of transportation to leave the planet. And finally, one day there was a massive earthquake, that finished destroying every little piece of life that was left in the world. It was truly the end."

Van had a lump in the throat, not knowing what to say, it was just too much. And it was then that he noticed Queen Iris was crying silently, it was obvious that for her it was even more difficult, because she had felt and seen it all.

"When the planet died I woke up, confused and scared." Iris continued. "Yu took care of me until I could finally understand we were safe. That's when I was chosen to be the queen of Kizanka, and I accepted. It's been very difficult for all of us to move on after the tragedy. Most of us lost family and friends back on earth before we could leave the place, either because they were already dead by the time we left, or because they thought I was crazy and refused to follow my plan." She sobbed a bit louder. "I still believe I would have given my life to save just a few more of all those poor persons that had to suffer everything in the end. But for some reason I didn't die, even when I was supposed to. The power I posses, was to protect those I care about, and as I already said it was tied to the life of my planet, so I expected to die when the planet destroyed itself. But I didn't. My brother is the only one, besides you now, who knows the true reason of my powers, and he believes something is keeping me alive; that there's something I must do before I can rest in peace. I believe it is this matters with our enemy, I must arrange everything, prevent them from destroying Gaea as they destroyed Earth. Just then will I be able to die peacefully."

"So, if I understood well, this enemy that will be arriving soon is…" Van began.

"They are those who were saved by the pact between nations." Iris finished for him. "Those who left Earth about six months before the last disaster stroke."

Van sighed, not knowing what to think. His last hopes where burning down, one by one. Merle looked at him, she could almost be sure she knew what he was thinking, it was pretty obvious.

"Excuse me." Van spoke again. "There's something I would like to ask you."

"What is it?" Iris asked as she slowly dried her tears.

"You know someone named Hitomi Kanzaki?" Van asked.

Merle sighed, she just knew he would ask for her.

Iris remained silent.

"You know what happened to her?" Van insisted. "Where she is? If she was saved, by you or by that pact?"

Queen Iris just looked at him straight in the eye.

"Why the sudden interest?" Iris asked.

"She's someone I…" Van was about to say love but changed his mind. "I care deeply about."

Iris sighed, almost imperceptive and shook her head slightly.

"I don't know." She replied standing up and going to the door. "Too much people, too much time. If you really are interested maybe you could go into the city and ask others, someone might just know that person you're looking for."

"And if she's not here?" Merle asked.

She knew her master too was thinking that, but wouldn't dare ask.

"You still have the hope that she'll be in the other ship." Iris replied "But I wouldn't keep hopes too high in that option."

"Why not?" Van asked.

"Because unless she was a very famous person in Earth and lived in a capital city, I doubt she was chosen." Iris explained. "And even if she was…we still are enemies."

Van was about to say something to that when she just exited the room.

Merle, with her very accurate hearing, could almost swear she had begun to cry again.

* * *

Hello! 

One thing. You aren't liking this fic, or why do I get notice of so many hits and so little reviews. Critics are well accepted, as long as you don't try to offend me please I really need the reviews.

Don't forget, review!

Sayonara!


	4. War Threats and Traitors

**Chapter 4.- War. Threats and Traitors.**

Hours later Van was walking throughout the city, searching for Hitomi. But with every passing minute his hopes lessened. Up to the moment no one even recognized the name of Hitomi Kanzaki, and the few who did believed she had died along with all her family; there were even some who would refuse to talk to him about such topics, and Van couldn't blame them, it was comprehensible that they didn't want to remember such a horrible past.

Shortly after noon Van heard noise from up, and noticed some dark airships approaching, he wondered if the battle would begin then, but minutes later he noticed that more ships arrived and people descended from them calmly.

"What's the meaning of this?" Van wondered aloud and immediately ran back to the castle.

"Queen Iris!" he called as soon as he entered.

He found her signing some papers.

"Yeah, send Veron to them, he and his men know how to treat this kind of machines. Make sure everyone follows the order of the Orange Code." Iris told Mamoru.

Mamoru nodded taking the papers, he was about to leave when…

"And remember Mamoru." Iris called to him. "Don't take your eyes off them, not even for one second."

Mamoru nodded and walked out.

"What's happening?" Van asked approaching the queen. "I thought you would be in battle now."

"Battle?" Iris asked half-puzzled. "No, hell no. No if I can avoid it."

"Then those ships weren't…" Van began.

"They are." Iris nodded. "Those ships are part from the 'Last Dawn's' float that has landed a couple of miles away from Kizanka."

"But then…" Van was truly confused. "I thought that…"

"We're not going to fight them King Van, is that's what you believed." Iris told him.

"But you told Chid that…" Van trailed off, he was beginning to think there was something really odd with this woman.

"Don't even finish that thought." Iris interrupted him. "I'm not going to betray nor King Chid, nor any one else in Gaea. This people don't represent a menace, yet. They just asked for help with some damages their main-ship received, as well as for supplies, I believe they have almost finished theirs."

"You said they would try to conquer Gaea." Van reminded her.

"I know perfectly well what I said, my king." Iris told him calmly. "But I do not intend to send my people on a battle unless there's no other choice. I've always preferred to settle down things peacefully, talking out, making arrangements, no by swords or any other kind of weapons."

Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. First he was told that an enemy was about to strike, and the Kizanka Queen was putting herself in danger by being the first to face this 'enemy', and now she said they were 'talking out things'. Something just didn't seem to fit in all this. Something was wrong.

Van said nothing else, and he left the castle again in silence, trying to understand.

"It's likely that now you'll doubt me, and you have the right to." Iris murmured to herself. "But I can't explain to you, it's not the time yet."

"At this pace, the time might never come." A small voice told her.

"Then even better, I won't get to break down what little heart and soul he has left." Iris replied harshly.

"You know things could be better, if you just told him what he wishes to know." Her 'conscious' insisted. "If you just told him where the person he's looking for is."

"What do you want me to tell him? That she's buried six feet under the ground someplace on earth? Or maybe she was turned to ashes and is still floating around in the dark atmosphere of what once was our home?" she sighed sadly. "No, I can't. I just can't get myself to do it."

"You hurt him more by not doing so. His hopes fly up, and you know how much the fall hurts."

"I've fallen down too many times. And still one more is coming. One from which I don't expect to get back up."

"You speak as if you were already dead."

"I am. Just as much as the Hitomi Kanzaki the king is looking for."

And without further words Queen Iris left the room in silence.

.---.

Van was again walking around the city, but this time he wasn't interrogating anyone. Just looking around. He noticed that the metallic buildings in the kingdom's borders seemed to be closed, as if they weren't working that day. Many of the shops inside the city were closed too, and very few people walked by the streets.

"So odd. Almost like a phantom city." Van muttered to himself.

It was then that he noticed that after each few yards there was a pole with a strange light. An orange light.

"Even stranger…" Van murmured. "I remember it being yellow just a few hours ago."

Just then hw saw a men walking by and decided to ask him.

"Excuse me." Van called him. "Could you explain me what those lights mean?"

The man could deduce by the question that he was a foreigner, probably the man who some said had arrived in that metallic dragon the previous day; and so, if he his queen's guest there was no problem in answering his question.

"Those are the Code Lights." The man answered.

"Code Lights?" Van asked puzzled.

"Yes, they show us in which situation the kingdom is." The man explained. "Normally they are green. You see, there are four codes: green, is the normal one, means peace, that everything is okay and we all do our common chores; yellow means we're on alert, under menace of a possible attack, then those who live outside the walls of the capital get inside, and go to the refuges until either the danger passes or we go to war; the orange light is like a second level of alarm, it means that there's a possibility that an enemy is already between us, then those who work on the common technology close their business and go to refuges, and the few who work in the special technology related to the security of the kingdom, or the last inventions must get locked, so the 'suspects' don't find out what we're doing; at last is the Red Code, which means that we're definitely under attack, and must fight."

"But why lights?" Van insisted. "Why not just send someone to tell you the situation of the city?"

"Because if you send someone, they might not reach everyone in time, or things might get worse in their way, and besides if a war shall get going you give the enemy the advantage." The man explained. "But with the lights we all know, and as enemies are foreigners, they don't understand and don't expect us to be prepared already."

'So Queen Iris isn't really a traitor.' Van thought, half-ashamed of what he had thought of her earlier. 'She knows this visitors aren't to trust, and has her people ready for it.'

"And if I'm a foreigner too, why have you told me all this?2 Van asked suddenly.

"Because I heard of your arrival. You're Queen Iris's guest, she would never accept inside her castle someone who wasn't to be trusted. And besides I heard when you were asking about a girl from our planet, from the Earth, or as you call it: Mystic Moon." The man explained. "And also, I'm old, I can see someone to the eye and know if their intentions are good or bad."

"And what do you see in my eyes?" Van couldn't help but ask.

"Concern." The man replied. "For our queen, for the people, for your own, and specially for that young woman you were asking about earlier today."

"You know anything about her?" Van suddenly asked. "About Hitomi Kanzaki."

"I knew her mother: Harumi Kanzaki, a wonderful woman, died tragically when the first KR-47 was fired to our country, along with her husband and many more." The man said sadly. "Yes, many good people died because of those bastards. But anyway, I knew that Harumi's kids had still been downtown when the explosion happened, so they must have survived that one. I don't think any of them was chosen to be on the ship, but even so, after all the confusion there was, many people who didn't deserved it were chosen." He sighed. "And about us, I can't assure you if she was with us when Queen Iris brought us, after all many people didn't believe her when she talked us about Gaea. And if she came here, then you still have to search for her, but don't try with her last name, many of us stopped using them when we arrived here, not important anymore."

Van felt himself as if being appalled after listening to all this. All his hopes for seeing Hitomi again were almost gone.

Suddenly they heard an alarm go off.

"What's that?" Van asked.

"An alarm." The man answered. "Someone has broken into a house or a shop without permission. This is not good."

Without more words the man got away.

Van was about to make his way back to the castle when he saw the man again, this time with Susumo.

"What's happened?" he asked both.

"One of the officers from the 'Last Dawn' tried to break into one of the shops." Susumo answered. "We got it under control but I know something is wrong. I must report it to Iris, she'll know what to do."

"I go with you." Van told him.

He didn't know exactly what but there was something inside pulling him to the castle, something that told him he should be there and help the queen as much as he could.

.---.

Meanwhile in the castle, Iris was sitting on the main-chair of the table in the council-room, while listening to what the General and Lieutenant of the 'Last Dawn' ship had to say.

"We would like to take this chance to see some of your technology my lady." The General said coldly.

He spoke her title with such little respect that Riha, present in the moment, wanted to slice his throat for the disrespect against her queen.

"We've seen the wonderful architecture in your city, and we would love to talk to your architects and workers, learn from you." The man continued. "After all, as I told you we just got away from the destruction of our planet, and wish to start again."

"I understand all you say my lord." Iris said. "But don't think it necessary. My people don't like foreigners to meddle with their work, except when we sell it to them, and that's until it's done."

The man's brow seemed to twitch at the queen's words, apparently he didn't like to be denied what he wanted.

"You know we really must be allowed to see that my lady, or…" the General began.

"Or what?" Iris interrupted him a bit coldly. "Is this a threat general? Because if it is perhaps you should double-check your situation before you speak."

"My lady, even if it is a threat, you have nothing but a small country, no heavy weaponry as we do, and your guard left the room." The General said.

This words got Riha on alert, and in an instant she had her hand on a device on the door.

"Guards!" she cried out.

Seconds later half-a-dozen guards entered the room.

"I suggest you leave my palace, and my kingdom before I run out of patience gentlemen." Iris told them harshly.

"You'll regret this my lady." The general stood next to her, speaking in a language no one but he the two of them seemed to understand. "When your kingdom is in ashes, your people as my slaves, I'll enjoy torturing you."

"F--- --u!" Iris spat at him.

The guards immediately approached, but were stopped when the General threw a small capsule that when breaking let go a cloud of smoke that blinded them for a few seconds. Enough for both men to get away.

"My lady…" one of the guards approached her. "Are you okay?"

Iris just nodded as she coughed a couple of times.

"What shall we do now?" Riha asked her.

Just then the doors burst open, letting Susumo, and Van in.

"Iris!" Susumo cried out as he entered.

Iris just turned to him, it was as if with one look she knew everything he wanted to tell her.

"Riha." Iris spoke. "Go down and declare: Code Red."

Both Riha and the just arrived Yu gasped at this.

"So it is true." Susumo said. "We're really going into war."

"Yes." Iris nodded. "As soon as my brother notices it I expect he'll get all defenses up. Meanwhile Yu I want you to go with the healers, be ready for any possible mishap. Riha, once you've done what I said get to the refuge, okay?"

Both women nodded immediately.

"Susumo, I need you to get Tenkuu ready, then go assemble the army." Iris added.

"You're going to use Tenkuu?" Susumo asked, apparently taken aback by this.

"Yes." Iris said firmly.

"But it was just finished last year, and you have barely practiced in it for a few months." Yu interfered. "You're not ready to go into battle with it."

"I'm not saying I am." Iris said. "But it must be done. I won't let my people defenseless. I won't stand back, seeing them fight, seeing them suffer, seeing them die. Not anymore, not ever again." She looked like she was about to cry but stopped herself just in time. "I won't do that anymore. This people believed me capable of being their queen, I'll go show them why they chose me."

"Please, take care." Yu whispered.

"I will, don't worry." Iris told her.

But Van noticed that something between her words seemed to be a lie, there was something about her going into battle she wasn't telling them. But he just couldn't point out exactly what it was.

Just then Merle burst into the room.

"Lord Van!" she yelled as she arrived. "What's going on?"

"A hell of problems Lady Merle." Iris intervene. "I suggest you accompany Riha to the refuge, there you'll be safe." She turned to Van. "I won't ask you to stand back, because I know you will do no such a thing, I'll just ask you to be careful, I can't be worried about my people, myself, and at the same time about you."

With that she walked toward the backdoor of the room, which led to a secret passageway to the royal rooms.

"You have no need to worry about me my lady." Van told her as she exited.

And maybe it was because of the distance, or some other distraction, he didn't seem to be able to hear her answer:

"I have always worried for you…Van…"

.---.

A while later Van was standing next to one of the columns of the palace. He had seen as Susumo went away to be in charge of the army; Yu had gone to the back of the castle, where the infirmary had been disposed; and after a good time he had finally convinced Merle of accompanying Riha to the refuge.

Slowly he walked to the side of the castle, where he had left Escaflowne.

"Seems we go into fight again." Van said aloud as he approached the metal-dragon.

Just then some strange feeling called his attention, and he turned to the side, in time to see a woman coming out the castle. She was wearing a long-sleeved lavender blouse that reached down to half her thighs, with a dark purple belt around her waist; along with black pants that reached just down her knees and dark boots; also she was wearing gloves in both hands and her hair in a bun. The clothes were pretty and they seemed to bring out her slim and beautiful figure.

"Queen Iris…" Van said, surprised at her change of clothing.

Iris turned to him, as if she had listened him, it looked as if she was about to talk to him when suddenly Van had a very bad feeling; for half-a-second he thought he saw the pink pendant around his neck glow, and he immediately knew something was wrong.

"Beware!" he cried out dashing toward her.

Iris could barely move aside in time, just as Van sliced through a soldier that had been about to stab the young queen by the back.

"Thank you." Iris said, a small smile gracing her lips.

'That smile…' suddenly Van felt something, like a heat pooling somewhere in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Iris asked, worriedly.

"Yes, fine." As Van answered he finally seemed to notice what was happening. Around his neck, the pendant was still glowing dimly, but there was another reaction, it was hot.

'What does this mean?' he asked himself. 'It had never happened before.'

And maybe because he was too occupied trying to analyze what may be happening with the pendant; he didn't seem to notice the surprised and even a bit shocked expression Queen Iris was directing to him in that moment.

"Iris!" a voice called.

Just then they both snapped out of their respective trances, turning to see Mamoru.

"Mamoru." Iris greeted him. "Where's Susumo? I told him to bring Tenkuu to me."

"I brought Tenkuu." Mamoru told her.

"Why you?" Iris asked.

"Maybe to take this chance to insist you again not to use it." Mamoru told her. "We haven't yet tested Tenkuu in the scene of a true battle. You have had hardly anytime to practice, and fighting has never been your strong-point."

"That's because I don't like to." Iris replied. "But I have to. Tenkuu was made specifically for this situation. You know that even with all the others inventions we've made, there's nothing better than Tenkuu. There's nothing I would wish more than not to fight with it, than not to fight at all, but I have to." She sighed. "I can't avoid my destiny anymore."

"You once said you didn't believe in destiny." Mamoru reminded her.

"Yes, and for that I didn't believe people on Earth capable of destroying their own world without caring about anything, nor anyone." Iris replied a little harder than she intended. "If I had accepted it since before, I might have been able to save more people."

"Things are the way they are for a reason, that's what grandma used to say." Mamoru said. "As she said you would know what to do with the gifts that were given to you."

"I would have thrown them away had I had the chance." Iris spat. "But I couldn't do it, so the next best thing I can do is use them to fight. To try stop and correct the series of mistakes those men are committing."

"And what about your mistakes?" Mamoru asked in return. "When will you worry about correcting your mistakes."

"I don't think there's any time left for me to do such a thing." Iris replied.

Without further talk she jumped over a small plate-like thing that floated besides Mamoru.

Van and Mamoru followed her with the sight as she floated upwards, and next to a metal door.

"Open." Iris ordered. "Password is: Atlantis."

Van was surprised at such a password, but said nothing about it.

Just then the door slid opened, to reveal the most surprising thing Van had ever seen.

"What's that?" he asked amazed.

"It's just like your guymeleths." Iris answered from above. "Just that it works with other energy sources rather than an energist. I really don't like the idea of going around fighting dragons… So instead we use other special energy we created ourselves here in Kizanka."

Then she jumped off the floating-device and into the pilot-cabin of the huge robot.

"Come on Tenkuu." She said as she got ready. "Let's show them what you can do."

When Iris stepped out of the hangar with Tenkuu Van was even more surprised; it really looked like a guymeleth, except that it's features were more defined, almost like those of a human-woman. And instead of seeing the face of the pilot through some gaps in the front, there was a visor made of some strange pink material. Also the movements in it seemed to be more precise and natural, with other guymeleths like Escaflowne or Scherezade they were ruder.

Van stopped admiring the Tenkuu when he felt again a strange sensation, and this time it was followed by the sound of about a dozen little ships arriving.

"They're coming." Susumo said.

"Yes." Iris said through some kind of communication device in her suit. "Shields up."

Immediately Van noticed strange blue shields raising in the back of the castle and one side.

'They are to protect the infirmary and the refuge.' Van reasoned.

After that thought Van remembered he was there to help and immediately ran to Escaflowne and got inside.

"Ok." Iris said noticing him next to her. "Lets go."

In that movement dozens of small ships zoomed past them. In each was standing a man of the army, carrying weapons; it was the 'Floating Legion' commanded by Mamoru, and their transports were some of the latest inventions they had, it included a shield, fire and laser weapons.

On the ground were even more armed men; this time with some guns Van didn't seem to recognize, more laser weapons, this ones smaller though, and some even carried swords.

Van was truly amazed by everything, but this time he had no time to get distracted, he must be alert on the enemy.

Just then a ship, bigger than the rest, got in front, it seemed to be piloted by the General who had threatened Queen Iris a while later.

"As you can see general, we aren't as defenseless as you first thought." Iris told him.

"How could this happen?" the general was confused.

"I always knew you weren't to be trusted, so I sent orders to my people to be ready." Iris explained. "We aren't the best country in technology in Gaea for nothing my lord. We have our ways of doing things. We knew you were coming even before you had even decided to land on Gaea."

"That's impossible." The General said. "All our technology, we can't be located in any radar, no machine can detect us, and we can camouflage with anything."

"You can hide from any existing machine." Iris said slowly. "But not from me… Mr. Verou."

"What!" the man was truly shocked now.

"That's your name, isn't it?" Iris asked. "Sohjiro Verou, General of the Japanese Army, and part of the Alliance, and even if some don't know it, you are also one of the responsible of the creation and detonation of the KR-47."

"That's a lie!" Verou cried out.

"No it isn't, and you know it just as I do." Iris said seriously. "You've lied to all this people, you promised them a salvation, you believed that if you conquered us everything would be fine with you, but no. I, Iris Kanza, Queen of Kizanka, won't let you destroy Gaea as you destroyed the Earth!"

"How can you know about the destruction of the Earth?" one of the soldiers asked.

"She knows nothing!" the General barked. "She can't know because she wasn't there, so she can't say she knows who I am or what I've done."

"You're still speaking lies Mr. Verou." Iris said. "I do know about you and about what you did. And I do know about the Earth and what happened there because I lived there!"

Most remained silent, some gasped, not quite understanding how this was possible.

And just then the General's faced changed, from one of anger to one of surprise, and even slight nervousness, he now seemed to know exactly who the woman behind that visor was.

"Exactly mister." Iris nodded. "I'm one of the many you decided to leave behind on Earth when you made the alliance. One of all those poor persons, condemned to die along with the planet. Just that in my case it was different, I found a way of surviving, of saving myself, as well as some more people. That's why we all know what you did to Earth, and we won't let it happen again, not ever again."

"You're talking b------t!" the man spat at her.

"If I am why do you seem so nervous?" Iris asked in return. "You know I've just pulled off your mask. I've revealed before everyone who you truly are. No one in Gaea will accept you now. No one will accept a bastard that destroyed his own home and now wants to do the same with this beautiful planet."

"I can just kill you, and when other people come here I'll tell them you were the traitor. Royalty has always believed more in men than in women." The General said confidently.

Van didn't know why, but something in those man's words made his blood boil.

"Maybe." Iris admitted. "The difference is, that royalty from another kingdom is already here. Next to me stands King Van Slanzar de Fanel, from Fanelia. He knows who you are, and what you've done, I don't think you'll be able to convince him that I'm a traitor now."

"Even if we have to go against all the armies, my lady. Earth has always had the best technology." General Verou said. "You must know it if you come from there. And five years don't pass in vain, you won't be able to defeat us."

"You know, there's a small mistake in your words, you don't seem to have noticed yet." Iris said. "Many of us are indeed from Earth, and so we too know about all the technology, enough to be able to duplicate most of it. And as you say, time doesn't go by in vain, we've made many inventions ourselves. As I said before, we are not defenseless my lord. If we have to fight you, fight you we will, and believe me, we won't go down that easily."

This seemed to make the enemies doubt.

"No one can defeat my army." General Verou insisted, although he didn't seem so sure of himself anymore.

"Oh but I can, and I will." Iris said seriously.

Van stood in fighting stance, waiting for a signal to begin all.

"But I'm not as bad as you may believe." Iris said suddenly. "I know that you don't have enough resources to survive longer than a few months. So I make an offer to your people. All of those who wish a peaceful life, to work to earn their food and home, to live with us, you'll be accepted, let down your weapons and come with us, I promise there won't be any reprimands against you, as you have done nothing against us yet. It's your only chance."

"What do you think you're doing!" General Verou cried out, enraged.

"I'm giving them a chance, unlike what you did almost six years ago." Iris replied.

Suddenly Van noticed how a man lowered his weapons and turned to them.

"If we go with you, our families will be safe?" he asked.

"I promise, by my honor and life, that no harm shall come upon you as long as I live." Iris said solemnly.

"I accept." The man said.

And after him, many more. They ran by the ground, getting their families out the main ship and to Queen Iris's side before the general could even react.

"No!" he cried out. "Traitors! That's what you all are! Nothing more than filthy traitors! You shall die now! Fire!"

And so, the rest of his army, fired…

* * *

Okay, I've received various opinions about this fanfic, while some want me to be more detailed about everything that's happening, others want me to go faster and end this now. I just have to say this: this fic is already finished, and I have to say I'm particularly proud of the way I finished it. I'm not planning on making any relevant changes to it, and if you wish to know there are just three chapters missing. This is a relatively short fanfic. Hope you'll read it through to the end. 

On an extra note, I've just published a new fanfic, it's a One Shot, of Inuyasha, I would be really pleased if you read it, it's called "The Trap." Thank you.

See you in the next chapter.


	5. Jealousy Unavoidable Destiny

**Chapter 5.- Jealousy. Unavoidable Destiny.**

Merle was inside one of the many rooms of the refuges that had been built in between the woods in the limits of Kizanka; fidgeting with her dress silently.

"You're nervous aren't you?" Riha asked approaching her.

Merle just nodded.

"Don't be." Riha said. "From what I've heard King Van is a wonderful fighter; Mamoru too is good at it, even if he probably hasn't had as much practice as your king; and Queen Iris isn't bad herself, even if she really doesn't like to fight."

"You seem to care a lot for your queen." Merle commented, trying to take her mind off Van, even if it was for just a couple of minutes.

"Yes. Some say it's just because I'm going to marry her brother." Riha explained. "And that by the looks of it, unless Iris finds a husband before the end of the year she'll have to leave the throne to Mamoru. So some believe I'm nothing more than a fortune and crown hunter. But I do love Mamoru, with all my heart."

Merle nodded, she knew most people didn't believe a single woman to be suitable to rule over a kingdom; it was a foolish thought, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"I believe you." Merle said. "Some times things are like that. They don't believe a woman capable of loving a man if it's not because of his money, or titles, etc."

"Especially when the woman does not has a title." Riha added.

"But I thought you had a title." Merle replied thoughtfully.

"They call me lady, but that's just for fashion." Riha said. "Here in Kizanka, titles are unimportant. Back on Earth none of us had any titles, we were common people, that's why we weren't chosen to be saved by the ship. Iris, as she already said, got to be queen by the gratitude of all the people she saved, we believed her suitable for the role. And my title, well, when she first told us about coming here to save ourselves very few believed her, I was one of the first. You've got to know in Earth we usually don't believe in this kind of things, like fantasy-worlds and magic. And maybe because I was still young, or because I needed so much something to believe in, to hold onto when the end felt so near, I trusted her. And so, when we came here to Gaea they thought I was suitable to become one of the Queen's advisor, the head of them in fact. Even if most of the council don't take me much in consideration, they have to respect me."

Merle nodded.

Suddenly they heard an explosion that shook the earth.

"Arg!" Merle yelled out in despair. "You know what? I can't handle it anymore. I'm going down there to see what's happening. And don't even think about stopping me."

"No, I won't." Riha said. "I'm coming with you. I need to make sure Mamoru is alright."

Merle nodded, understanding what the young woman must be feeling.

And with that they left the refuge and ran into the city again.

.---.

"No!" Iris yelled. "Activate Shields!"

The attack hit them just then. But before the enemy could even celebrate the dust had already settled. Some cough could be heard as the men tried to recover their positions as fast as possible.

"Is everyone ok?" Susumo asked from his place.

"Yes boss!" some of his men answered.

"Any problems?" Mamoru asked in return.

"One of the ships fell down chief, the shield didn't reach in time." One of the soldiers told him. "It was piloted by Kurama."

"Where's he?" Mamoru asked worriedly.

"I'm here sire." A man said from below.

He looked fairly good, just a few scratches and a medium burn in one leg.

"Fert, take him to the infirmary." Mamoru ordered another of his men.

The man nodded and did as he was ordered.

And as the dust finished settling, they could all see the light-blue glowing shield that had settled between both armies.

"I told you we wouldn't go down that easily." Iris said. "For the last time, General Verou, surrender and we can avoid all this; continue and you will surely die."

"I may die." Verou said. "But if it is so, you'll come with me. Attack!"

And that's when all hell unleashed its force.

.---.

Merle and Riha were still running and crossed with Kurama and Fert when they were going to the infirmary. So, with the help of the two girls the four of them ran as fast as possible to the infirmary.

There Yu helped Kurama get onto a bed, and a healer took care of his injuries.

"How are things back there?" Riha asked Kurama.

"They're okay Lady Riha." Kurama answered with the due respect. "It seems the enemy didn't expect some of the inventions we have done. Queen Iris even decided to give them the opportunity to surrender."

"Really?" Merle was impressed.

"Yes." Fert nodded. "Some of them accepted to get on our side. And that man, General Verou, called them traitors and attacked. But Queen Iris ordered the shields to be activated just in time. I was the only one with some injuries, minor ones, because I was slightly out of the reach of the shield." He smiled. "A little miscalculation from my part."

"Is my husband ok?" Yu asked.

"Yes." Kurama nodded. "General Amano is perfectly fine, just as the rest of the men."

Suddenly they could feel more explosions.

"Mamoru!" Riha cried out in panic.

"Susumo!" Yu cried out, and suddenly she collapsed.

"My lady!" the healers immediately ran to her.

"She just fainted." One of the healers finally said aloud.

This brought relief to everyone.

"The shock was just too big." The healer explained. "And in her state it's not good."

"Her state?" Riha asked.

They could all guess what the healer-woman meant with those words.

Suddenly there was a moan, and the queen's lady-in-waiting went back to her senses.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You fainted by the shock." The healer informed her.

"Is Susumo alright?" Yu asked.

"Kurama returned to battle." Fert told her. "And I'm sure General Amano will be alright."

"You have to be more careful." The healer-woman told Yu, offering her a glass of water. "In your state it is not good for you to have such shocks."

Yu didn't answer but drank the water.

"Please, follow my advice." The healer insisted. "You have to relax a bit, too much stress may hurt you and the baby. Lady Yukari."

The woman just nodded, knowing the healer was right.

"Wait a minute." Merle suddenly interrupted. "You said Yukari?"

Yu, Yukari, nodded in silent.

"I know I have heard that name before." Merle said thoughtfully. "Back during the Great War, when Van was talking with…" she stopped as suddenly everything seemed to click in. "Oh for all the spirits!"

"What?" Riha asked confused.

"I've got to reach Lord Van!" Merle cried out, sprinting off. "He's got to know this!"

"What was she talking about?" Riha asked.

"She already noticed." Was all Yukari said, with a slight smile in her lips.

.---.

Meanwhile, the battle went on. Both sides were giving all they had got and it was impossible to guess who would be the winner in the end. Just for a second, all fire stopped, it seemed as if they had all taken a second to recover their breaths.

"We're doing pretty well." Iris murmured to herself as she took a quick look to her people.

Some were injured, and slowly making their way to where the infirmary was located, others had minor injuries and continued fighting, up to the moment their were no deaths to mourn.

"That's a relief." Iris thought aloud. "But if we go on like this, we might end destroying all the kingdom."

And it was true, many of the houses had been turned into ruins, due to the attacks, explosions, and everything.

"We've got to stop them. Now." Iris said.

This time Van could listen to her.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked Iris.

"You'll see." Iris replied.

And Van could have swore she was smirking as she said this.

"Mamoru! Susumo!" Iris called at them. "Activate the MF now."

Both men understood and nodded. Immediately they took out each a strange device, and pulsed some buttons. At the same time Iris did the same with some controls inside Tenkuu.

A second later Van could feel something strange all around, and immediately after he noticed some of the enemy's ships fell to the ground, others where still floating, useless.

"What have you done!" Verou cried out, half-enraged, half-astonished.

"One of our latest inventions." Iris answered. "The MF is a Magnetic Field, so strong it leaves any electronic machine, useless. So as you can see you have just lost half of your army. Are you ready to surrender, or will you continue this useless battle?"

"I'll never give up!" Verou cried out. "First death!"

"Then so be it." Iris declared.

Van could notice that even though her voice sounded firm, there was something within it, like some hidden pain that was resurfacing.

"I'm not defeated yet!" Verou cried out.

Suddenly a strange robot came out from the main ship, it was almost as tall as Tenkuu and Escaflowne.

"Is that a guymeleth?" Van asked stunned.

"Almost." Iris replied. "I would have never imagined them being able to finish that. It's done under the same lines than Tenkuu, except that while I use a special energy we collect from the sunlight and heat, they use nuclear energy, which is far more dangerous."

"You mean that…" Van didn't like what she seemed to be implying.

"I mean that we must be really careful of that thing." Iris replied.

Suddenly she took a decision. If something happened to that invention of General Verou, if the nuclear energy that was kept inside exploded the result would be just catastrophic.

"Susumo! Mamoru!" Iris called. "Retreat!"

Her order was so sudden, firm and unexpected it took everyone by surprise.

"But…" her brother didn't seem to like the idea at all.

"This is getting far too dangerous." Iris said. "Get everyone out of Kizanka before its too late. It's an order."

Mamoru knew he couldn't disobey a direct order, so he just nodded.

Susumo did likewise, and immediately after all the Kizanka army was retreating.

"You running away already?" Verou asked sarcastically. "But the fun has barely begun!"

He sent some of his soldiers to attack, but using Tenkuu Iris managed to keep them away from her people.

While Van, aboard Escaflowne, battled with the big robot of Verou, which was piloted by a remote control, which meant no one was inside it.

.---.

Merle was still running, trying to get to Van as soon as possible, when she suddenly found herself getting drowned between all the people who was retreating.

"Hey!" she cried out as some pushed her back to the infirmary. "Let me go! I've got to get to Lord Van! I have to tell him what I found out! That I know…"

She stopped herself when she noticed it was impossible to try and reason with those men, so she decided on plan B.

Minutes later, after having hit or scratched a few men she finally had her path clear and ran as fast as she could to find Lord Van, and Queen Iris.

.---.

The battle seemed to go on for what seemed like forever.

Van was really surprised by the skill and ability queen Iris demonstrated; although in her moves and style there was something that made him think of someone else.

Iris was fighting as hard as she could, but it was just too difficult for her, she had never been a fighter, always hating it when her friends fought, if it had been for her she would have run away long ago; but no, she couldn't run, not now, not ever again, not when hundreds of lives, when all her people's lives depended on her.

While she fought she always kept an eye on Escaflowne and its pilot: Van. For some reason she felt that she had to be sure nothing happened to him. Maybe it was because of the fact that he was a king of another country, and was there just to help her, or perhaps there was something else, something she knew perfectly well, but wouldn't dare accept.

In a moment Van felt as his enemy made a slight cut in Escaflowne's shoulder, nothing mayor, although obviously his own body resented it as part of the blood-pact that had been made years ago.

Iris noticed Van's distraction, and immediately could feel what would be following.

"No! Beware!" she cried out hysteric.

"VAN!"

But in Escaflowne's cockpit, his name was heard as if pronounced by someone else's voice, a voice he knew too well.

Van noticed the pendant glowing and at the same time radiating warmth, as if warning him of a danger. And indeed it was.

Van noticed the attack directed to him a second too late.

"NO!" the same voice cried out again.

And, as if it were some kind of mysterious magic, Escaflowne seemed to move on its own, out of the attacker's path. Just in time.

Van fell down hard; gasping for breath; relieved that he hadn't been hit, but at the same time wondering what had saved him, after all, he didn't remember being able to move by himself on time. And just then he noticed the pendant was still glowing.

"This glow…this energy…" Van murmured to himself as he held the chain to which the pendant was attached. "It's just like when Zaibach had Escaflowne, when you helped me move it."

And just then he seemed to understand.

"It is you Hitomi." He said, half-shocked. "This is the proof you're alive, and you're helping me. Like always." He kissed the pendant with a smile. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I will get out of here, for you."

"I know you will."

The same voice answered him, and that seemed to be enough for him. He got back on his feet, back to the fight.

Just then Iris was shaking slightly, she had barely been able to dodge the series of attacks the enemies had sent to her the moment she got distracted with King Van and Escaflowne.

From her place she got to hear Van's words while he fought.

"You'll see Hitomi. We'll be together again."

The young king sounded so sure of himself, it just broke Iris's heart further, knowing he was getting useless hopes.

"I'm so sorry, but I don't think so." Iris whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. "This is how things are supposed to be. Since years ago we were meant to end like this, it's nothing more than our unavoidable destiny."

Just then she took a decision. She had to finish that fight, once and for all.

Van was about to punch his enemy again when he again felt the same force, the one he had concluded was Hitomi's, pulling him away, making him leave the battleground.

"What's happening?" he asked. "Why do you want me to leave?"

He turned around to see Queen Iris surrounded by the rest of the enemies.

"You're lost my lady." General Verou mocked her. "Better accept your defeat."

"Never." Iris replied coldly. "This ends now."

Suddenly her 'guymeleth' seemed to glow a brilliant green.

"What's that?" Verou asked.

"Something's not alright here…" Van murmured, stepping out of Escaflowne.

"Finito!" Iris command was heard in what seemed to be a second of complete silence.

Followed by the most terrible explosion ever heard.

"No!" Van cried out in panic, he clutched the pendant tightly in his hand. "Help her! Get her out of there!"

For just an instant, there was a bright pillar of blue light in the middle of the explosion; a second later it mirrored to a place on the ground just a couple of feet away from Van.

Once the light vanished, Van noticed Queen Iris lying on the ground. He immediately jumped off Escaflowne, and knelt next to her, shaking her lightly.

A moan of pain was the first proof that the young queen was alive, her clothes were a bit toasted, and her face seemed to be covered by the blackness of the smoke and ashes.

"What happened?" Iris asked.

Just then she noticed where she was.

"What am I doing here?" she asked.

"You barely got out from there alive." Van answered.

"Van…" Iris whispered sweetly, then she seemed to get back her senses. "No!"

Van was surprised by her sudden change of attitude.

"This shouldn't have happened." She said standing up as fast as she could. "I should have stayed there, make sure Verou died. And I would have died along with him."

"What!" Van cried out in shock. "You mean you wanted to die?"

"It's my destiny." Iris answered. "To die along with that who caused so much pain."

"Die? You? But why?" Van thought her words to be senseless. How could someone possibly wish for their own death?

"Yes, die, me." Iris answered him. "Because only with my death will all this finish. All this hate, all this pain, all this death."

"Why you?" Van asked, still not getting it.

"Because I'm the cause of all this." Iris answered. "General Verou did all this because of me, and so his grudge and evil won't finish until I'm death."

"There must be another away." Van insisted.

"There may be…" Iris began, but quickly shook her head. "No. I won't risk any more lives. This is the way thing were supposed to be since the beginning. I trust you'll be able to help my brother be a good king."

And before Van could say something, she sprinted off, running right into the chaos of rocks, fire, ashes and dust.

.---.

Merle fell to the ground with a hard thud the moment the earth shook violently.

"No!" she cried out standing again.

Her dress was ripped, almost turned into tatters and she didn't seem to care. There was only one thing in her mind in the moment. And it was to reach Lord Van before it was too late.

"Lord Van!" Merle yelled as she ran with all her energies. "I must reach you in time! You must know…"

.---.

Iris entered with a firm pace into the mess of flames, ruins and metal, a total chaos and destruction. Flames seemed to be closing in around her, as if waiting for the perfect moment to burn her down, but she wasn't afraid, she would never be again. Because she had finally accepted it, the destiny she had come to fulfill, the sins she had to pay for, before all could be left clear; and the judgment she was going to impart to someone she once cared about.

In between the same mass of destruction and death Lord Verou could finally get out the cockpit of his ship. Apparently he was the only one left alive. The rest of his army had died by the explosion, but no, not him; he was strong, and was still alive, and would be until he claimed what he believed to be his, until he proved everyone he wasn't a failure, and that no one was better than him, less of all a stupid little girl.

Just as he was deep in thought he noticed Queen Iris walking slowly nearby. Apparently she too had made it out alive.

"Well. Not for long." Verou murmured as he took a gun out of his pants.

One bullet, that was all he needed and he would get rid of that pest of a queen.

He raised the gun and aimed at the queen. Who cared if he didn't hit straight in the chest? Anyway she would die there and he would win. He had everything ready, and was about to fire when suddenly she raised her head, locking stares with him, and he just froze.

Slowly, Iris made her way to him. She had noticed the gun in his hand, but didn't seem to really care about it.

The gun fell down with a loud metallic noise, as Verou gave a step backwards, in shock.

"No…" he murmured, almost afraid. "It can't be you. It just can't. You're a ghost, a mere ghost that has come to haunt me."

"Am I really?" she asked.

And her mere voice seemed to send goosebumps all through the General's body. It was as if a spell had fallen upon him, he couldn't think clearly anymore.

"I don't think so." Iris added, approaching him even more.

"Stay where you are!" Verou ordered.

Iris, indeed, stopped in her tracks, although she kept gazes locked with Verou.

"You can't be alive, you just can't." Verou insisted.

"Oh, but I am." Iris assured him. "I'm alive, very much alive in fact."

"This can't be. You are dead!" Verou cried out in something that seemed like a mix of rage and panic. "You must be dead! You died that day. When the bomb exploded. You were supposed to die that day."

"You're right." Iris nodded. "I was supposed to die that night, but I didn't. For some reason I was kept at school for an extra class, and didn't make it home in time to die there. You tried very hard, but in the end your plan didn't work, you couldn't kill me."

Verou looked like he wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out his mouth, his throat was way too dry, and no matter how hard he tried, he could tear his eyes apart from Iris's.

"You didn't kill me that day." Iris continued. "Though, you did kill many more people. Innocent people. Kids, adults, women, elders, all of them who knew nothing of your evil wishes against me. They all died because of you."

"Because of you!" Verou finally yelled. "You were supposed to be there. You were supposed to be the one to die!"

"If you wish my death so much, why didn't you go to kill me by your own hand?" Iris asked, as tears stung inside her eyelids. "If you desired my death so much you could have done it by yourself. And then you wouldn't have killed so much innocents." She sniffed, but managed to hold back her tears. "You killed my friends, my neighbors, my family; you killed my parents: Dad, mom…God dammit you killed your own sister!"

Just then, the fire alarms of the nearby buildings seemed to go off, and special devices sent water falling over the fire, trying to settle it.

"It was all your fault!" Verou insisted.

"You bastard!" Iris spat. "How can anyone be as cold-hearted as to kill his own sister, his own family, out of hate for someone that's supposed to be family too."

"You aren't family, and never will!" Verou yelled. "My own mother preferred you above me. I was supposed to be the man, the oldest, the heir, the favorite. And I was until you were born. When she forgot she even had a son and preferred his granddaughter."

"You can't blame me for the mistakes grandma did." Iris replied.

"Yes I can." Verou insisted. "I was his favorite until you appeared. She always said I would be a wonderful man, who would make everyone proud, that I had gifts that would help the people. But once you were born, she forgot all about me. She said you had a great potential, and would one day use your power to help many people, to save a world. She even forgot she had told me something like that to me before."

"That's why you hate me so much?" Iris asked bewildered. "Just because you believe grandma preferred me over you."

"She did." Verou assured. "That's why she didn't care when I enrolled into the army. She cared about nothing but her 'dear granddaughter' the 'Great Seer'. You got all the love I deserved, you took it away from me. And for that I hate you."

Van, who was standing a few feet away from them, was shocked at the revelations. Queen Iris's uncle was behind everything? Because he hated her? It was just too much.

"You can't blame a little girl for being loved by her grandma." Iris said. "And you can't use your hate toward me to shield yourself. For God's sake, you killed your own sister just because of me?"

"She was a part of it." Verou said. "By giving birth to you."

"You're insane!" Iris cried out. "How can you blame a woman for giving birth to a child?"

"I warned her." Verou said. "I told her the dangers she would get into if she had you. And she didn't care. She said that even if she didn't have the same gift she knew you would be able to use it for good. Even mother said you would one day be better than me."

"And that's why you did all this?" Iris asked. "That's why you decided to destroy a whole world? Just to prove you're better than me?"

"Yes." Verou nodded. "And I have done it. I'm stronger than you."

"Oh uncle…" Iris sighed. "Seems you never understood what grandma's real meaning behind her words were."

This seemed to puzzle Verou.

"I was meant to be better than you, stronger in mind and soul." Iris said. "So I could endure being through a terrible war, and help a young prince become king and save his land. You were meant to be strong in body and help everyone back home, not here." She sighed sadly. "We were gifted with the same power, and chosen to use it in a different way. But you made a wrong turn, when you decided to destroy Earth instead of protecting it, you changed my fate too. And so, instead of being able to just go on with my normal life, I had to use my powers again, saving as many people as I could, and without wanting to I again brought to this world, Gaea, problems, as well as to the young man I had the pleasure of see turn into king."

Van was confused at everything said. Did this all meant what he think it did? Queen Iris was talking with such vehemence he believed her. But then that would mean only one thing… He gasped at the mere thought

"It can't be." Verou denied. "It can't be as you say."

"But it is." Iris insisted. "You are the cause of all the pain on Earth, and in a way I'm the cause this pain got to Gaea. So while we're both standing, things won't be at peace."

"You're saying you're willing to die to save a world that isn't even yours?" Verou asked with amusement.

"No." Iris stated. "I'm capable of giving up my life for a world I got to feel like a second home, and for the memory of my former home that lives now here."

She was obviously referring to her people, and to those who had quitted Verou's army just in time to save their lives.

"Then, even if I die, you'll come down with me." Verou said satisfied. "So in the end I'll be the one to win."

Iris didn't answer at this.

Van was almost shaking. He had to do something, and fast; he couldn't just let the queen died, not now not ever.

"This is the end." Iris murmured.

She opened a small crevice in the device she wore around her wrist. Inside was the latest inventions of all. An implosive, it was just as any explosive, but the effect was inwards, so no one else would be damaged.

"Let your soul be at peace…" Iris whispered as she was about to activate the implosive.

"I will be." Verou assured. "With you gone."

In an instant, he had the gun again in his hand. And he fired.

"Good Bye Van…" the words that reached Van's ears by some kind of magic made his heart clench in pain.

"No!"

Van would probably never get to know what kind of force possessed him just then, and he didn't really seemed to care in the moment; He just dashed and pushed Iris to the side, barely in time; as the bullet passed zooming, right behind both of them.

The small implosive slipped off Iris fingers, and out of her reach.

"No!" she cried out in panic.

Things weren't going as planned.

"So your blue prince came to save you." Verou mocked them. "Too bad he won't be able to do so once he's dead."

Again he aimed, this time at Van, and fired.

"No! Van!"

This time the Fanelian prince noticed it was as if both Iris's and Hitomi's voices had mingled, becoming one.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

Iris saw Van's sword, it had fallen out of the sheath in the fall. She took it and tugging a bit at her powers, she threw the sword at Verou. And at the same time she threw herself in between Van and the bullet, using her body as a shield.

A gasp, was what sent everything to its normal course.

Van was surprised at seeing Verou pierced by his (Van's) own sword, he coughed, spitting blood, as Van noticed the man was slowly dying.

A moan got Van's attention somewhere nearer him, when someone else was too in pain.

"Iris!" in the moment Van seemed to forget all protocol, it just didn't matter anymore. "What…"

Just then he noticed the crimson stain on Iris's clothes that seemed to grow with each passing second. To prevent the bullet from hitting Van she had stopped it with nothing but her own body, and so she was now bleeding to death.

"In the end…I win…" Verou managed to choke out as he fell, dead.

"Why?" Van asked Iris.

He let himself fall to his knees, holding Iris's bleeding form to him.

"I couldn't let him kill you, it would have been just too much pain for me to bear." Iris replied in a low voice.

Her body began trembling involuntarily. She felt cold, and a numbness in all her muscles, a weakness that was quickly spreading; and she felt tired, too tired. She was dying, and she knew it. And didn't seem to regret the way death came to her.

"I just wish…" she began.

Suddenly Van noticed how, with a great effort, she managed to pull herself upwards, until she was almost the same eye level as him.

Slowly, due to her lack of strength, she managed to take Van's face in her hands, and pulling him lightly towards her, she kissed him, trying to pour all her overwhelming emotions in that single gesture.

Once she broke off and turned to look at him, he couldn't help but stare at her, wondering what was happening, there had been something in that kiss… And then it hit him.

Iris smiled at him lightly, noticing he had finally discovered the truth within her.

Van suddenly noticed it, the feeling of two hearts beating at once.

"So it's true…" he murmured, not quite believing his own heart.

His mind was flooded with thoughts, fears of it all being a lie, but he just knew it wasn't, his heart couldn't be wrong, not this time.

"I love you…" Iris whispered. "Van…"

And she let darkness claim her, as her body fell limply against the man who suddenly noticed the worst change: instead of the beating of two hearts, now he could just feel one.

* * *

Ok. For those who were wondering who Queen Iris is truly (and those who had already guessed it), here you have the latest chapter. The story has already been finished, and you're missing two more chapters; so, wait a while more and soon you'll know how this story will end. 

Hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to leave review.

See you on the next update.


	6. Truth Return to Me

**Chapter 6.- Truth. Return to me.**

Van was pacing just outside the door of one of the rooms in the Silver Castle.

"When are you gonna let me in damn it!" he cried out enraged, hitting the wall savagely.

"I think everyone in this castle would appreciate if you didn't destroy it." Someone commented.

Van turned to look at Allen sending him a look that clearly said: 'stay-out-of-this'.

"And some people here would like to be able to sleep. After all it is almost midnight, and a battle just ended." Allen's sister, Selena added as she approached them.

"Yes a battle that was won by one woman." Van said. "A woman that's now laying in there, fighting for her life."

"Just as many others in this castle." Allen said as a matter of fact.

"Maybe." Van nodded. "But she's like that because of me. She was wounded to save me! You understand!"

"Lord Van…" Merle whispered.

She was standing in the farthest side of the hallway, just arrived, had been helping Yu, Susumo, Kurama and the healers to make sure all the people was safe and had someplace to sleep. While Mamoru and Riha tried to calm them down, assuring them everything would be fine.

"Well, seems most of the people has settled down." Yu murmured approaching.

"Yes." Susumo nodded. "Even with the king's yells that could be heard about five miles around."

Just then Mamoru and Riha added to the group.

"I'm too tired…" Mamoru sighed. "My sister never told me being in charge was this tiring."

"But you're doing wonderfully fine." Riha assured him, hugging him.

"Just because you're with me." Mamoru replied with a half-smile.

Allen and everyone had arrived not longer after General Verou died. It seemed to be a disappoint for those in the Crusade to discover they had lost the opportunity to fight.

Not long after them a few more ships arrived. The first of them in charge of Selena Schezar, and carrying the Asturians. Once down Millerna had taken to herself the duty of helping the young Queen Iris. While the armies were spread to make sure the menace was truly over.

"You know we might be needing someone to bring us supplies from some other kingdom soon." Dryden commented as he joined.

"There won't be any need for that." Mamoru spoke.

They all turned their attention to him.

"My sister was well prepared for almost any kind of situation." Mamoru explained. "There is a warehouse that's reached by a door in the back of the castle. There are kept sacks of grain and seeds, barrels of clean water, wine, and some other foods."

The foreigners were surprised by someone being so prepared.

"As Iris probably explained to you." Susumo added. "She expected this war since some time ago."

"Expected it?" Selena asked. "How?"

"Lets just say it's a 'talent' of hers." Yu cut in without much explanation.

"Since some time ago she knew something like this could happen." Susumo continued. "So she gave order for the warehouse to be filled with enough food to last at least three or four months. And as you can see she had also made sure that everything was ready in the refuges and this hospital wing."

"Those of us who have been through a war like the one we witnessed know when danger is coming." Riha added. "You can call it 'Surviving Instinct'."

"But there's something else with your queen." Merle stepped in.

It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"There's something about her you haven't yet said." Merle insisted.

"There are many things about her we haven't talked about." Mamoru said, a bit harsher than he intended.

Just then their little conversation was interrupted, as Millerna exited the room next to where Van was standing.

"How is she?" he asked, a tone of anxiety in his voice.

Millerna shook her head sadly.

"I don't think she'll make it." She finally said. "Even when I have already taken out that strange thing that hurt her, the bullet, out of her body, and closed the wound, she lost too much blood; and there's also the fact that even with all vital signs she doesn't react, she just doesn't open her eyes. I don't think she'll make it through the night."

"But she's got to make it!" Van cried out, almost in despair. "She can't die!"

"Van…" Millerna began. "Could it possibly be, that you have finally forgotten about... Hitomi?"

"Never." Van stated fiercely.

"But then…" Allen thought the same as Millerna, by the way Van worried for the young queen.

"I haven't forgotten about Hitomi. And I worry about the woman in there because she saved my life. Ok?" Van said stressed out. "And if you want to know something else: that woman in there is Hitomi."

As Van spoke he emphasized the last two words, making everyone gasp.

"But that can't be…" Allen began.

"It' impossible…" Dryden added.

"No it isn't." Yu suddenly spoke.

"Yu…" Susumo began.

"No Susumo, it's time they know the truth." Yu told her husband seriously.

Her husband finally nodded, he too believed that secret to be too much for anyone. Mamoru too nodded his approval.

Yu breathed deeply before beginning, what she was about to say, she knew it was going to have a big effect in some of those present.

"My full name is Yukari Uchida-Amano." Yu began. "And my husband is Susumo Amano. I believe King Van already knows most of what I have to say, but anyway I will say it. That woman inside that room is, in fact, Hitomi. I am, and have been her friend since we were little. Both me and Susumo were there the day when King Van appeared from thin air, along with a dragon and began fighting it. We also witnessed how Hitomi mysteriously disappeared without leaving a trace, to return a few months later, completely changed. It was a relief to us to have her back, until we noticed she seemed to be really miserable."

"Miserable?" Merle asked confused.

"Yes." Susumo nodded. "She didn't made that big of an effort in the track team anymore, and eventually quitted. She seemed to be always daydreaming. And sometimes would cry because of nothing. In history class she would get nauseous or mad, she said she hated it, she hated having to learn about wars, and reading about people that called themselves the 'good guys' and always won, she believed that in a war no one won, because there were always people suffering in the end. She stopped being her cheerful self, and even when she tried to smile, you could see in her eyes her eternal sadness, and longing. She turned silent, and reflexive. She was a confident, serious and mature young woman, when she was barely seventeen! Maybe here in Gaea that's normal, but not where we come from."

"One year after those strange successes things began to get ugly on Earth." Yukari continued.

"Earth?" Allen asked surprised.

"The Mystic Moon." Dryden stated.

"You're from the Mystic Moon!" Millerna and Selena cried out.

"I thought you would have figured it out by now." Susumo murmured. "Because of us being friends of Hitomi."

"We are from Earth, the place you call the Mystic Moon." Mamoru added. "Just as almost everyone here in Kizanka."

"But you were telling us how everything happened." Merle reminded them.

"That's right." Yukari nodded. "Six years ago war unleashed on Earth. A world war. Things weren't too bad at the beginning, we heard on the radio or on TV about people battling and firing each other in some far away places with strange names we couldn't even pronounce. But with each passing month it drew closer to us. Finally half year later after it began three of the countries on our world decided to forge an alliance, they built up a great ship, in which they would take a million chosen people that would flee off the Earth, and so be saved. You can guess by now that Hitomi and I weren't between the chosen ones."

"I was chosen." Susumo added. "Being a track runner, I had even competed in the Olympics, a few months after everything began. But I refused, I was engaged to Yukari, and I loved her, I would never leave her. It was then that Hitomi finally opened herself to us, and told us about Gaea. It seemed to be hard for her, especially the part about all those wonderful persons she had to leave, I believe you are them."

They all remained in silence, although feeling honored by being remembered by Hitomi in such a way.

"After Hitomi told us about Gaea, she also said that we could save ourselves if we came here." Susumo added. "She said it was a bit difficult, but that it could be managed."

"It was more than just a bit difficult." Mamoru interrupted with a little sarcasm. "You see, Hitomi inherited from my grandmother certain talents, or gifts, whatever you wish to call them."

"What she did to read the future, and locate people, and the visions." Allen enlisted.

"Yes." Mamoru nodded. "But that wasn't all. She had one more power, of teleporting."

"The blue pillar of light." Van deduced.

"Exactly." Mamoru nodded. "Except that that power, unlike the rest, she couldn't control it. She used the pendant for focus, but she didn't have it anymore. And besides, when she used her powers to go back to Earth, after her trip to Gaea it just left her powerless."

This made a few of them gasp.

"That's why she could never come back here." Mamoru continued. "I was witness of the many nights she spent crying, and yelling at the gods for denying her the opportunity of returning to this place. But no matter how much she yelled or cried, her power was gone. She had spent to the last drop of it in helping you, and then returning to what in that time used to be her home."

"Then how could she save you?" Selena asked.

"She made a pact." Mamoru explained. "She bonded herself to the Earth's soul. So she could use her powers using the Earth as energy supply. Although she knew that that meant that she would be dieing along with the planet."

The women gasped.

"But…she's here…" Merle murmured.

"That's because the spirit of our grandmother helped her." Mamoru explained. "She broke the bound in the last moment before the Earth was completely destroyed. Although Hitomi watched and felt everything; which just made her serious and sad state just worse."

"My name is Riha Chisana." She spoke when noticing Mamoru wouldn't be able to continue. "I was one of the first persons to believe when Hitomi went to us and talked about Gaea, and about the possibility of being saved. Many refused to believe, they said it was a waste of time. But those of us who believed, were saved by her. Once here we decided that instead of looking for shelter in another kingdom we should build up our own. It would have been just too weird for us to go knock on someone's castle doors saying we had just escaped our planet's total destruction and ask for shelter. And we didn't want to split up, we had too much in common. So we left Earth a few months before it collapsed, and once here in Gaea we found the land of Zaibach. Hitomi was in a coma in that time, it had been just too much for her to bring all of us here. So Mamoru and I went to the Fanelian King, to ask him for the lands."

Van nodded, since he had seen that girl for the first day he knew he had seen her a long time before.

"It took us two years to settle down completely." Riha continued. "And when Hitomi woke up the people voted on having her as Queen, and she accepted it. Susumo and Mamoru decided to take care of the armies, and Yukari, being the closest person to the queen became her lady-in-waiting. Then they approached me, saying that because I had believed everything without a single doubt since the beginning, they wanted me as advisor in the council. I was young back then, and doubted, but they convinced me. So I have been the queen's advisor since then."

"But why didn't she tell us?" Millerna asked.. "We would have gladly helped her."

"You've got to understand it was quite difficult for us." Yukari began.

"Some of us still have nightmares at night, about the war that almost killed us all." Susumo added.

"But in the case of Hitomi is even worse." Mamoru said. "Because our parents were killed there. A couple of months before she said everything about Gaea. There was a big explosion on Tokyo, many people died. Our parents between them."

"But you survived." Allen didn't seem to understand that.

"You could say we were lucky." Mamoru said sadly. "I was out on a friend's house, and Hitomi had to stay for an extra class at school. And as in that time she hadn't done the pact yet, she didn't get to foresee it on time. She blamed herself on it for some time. She believed it to be her destiny to save everyone, and die because of it, and that if it hadn't been for the fact that she was too afraid to die she would have been able to act sooner."

"But how can she believe she would be able to save a whole planet?" Merle asked.

"I believe that had to do with some kind of prophecy grandma made when she was little." Mamoru said. "I don't remember much of it, just that she and our uncle would be the only ones left with those powers once she died, and so they would be destined to do great things. Our uncle for the Earth, and my sister for a place far away. But it also said that if for any reason one of the two were to use their powers for evil purposes, the other would acquire the duty of stopping him/her before it was too late. My sister took it too literal the moment she found out."

"Your sister…" Selena began." That means your uncle…"

"Yes Sohjiro Verou, General of the Japanese Army, was our uncle." Mamoru nodded. "As much as he was one of those who cause the downfall of Earth, and the leader of today's attack."

They were all taken aback by this. They just couldn't believe, how a man would be able to wish death to his own family?

"I heard when he spoke to Iris, Hitomi." Van spoke, for the first time throughout the whole conversation. "Discussed more like it. He seemed to be rally mad at her, because his mother had foreseen that one day Hitomi would be stronger than him."

"Well, some say that they both had to be strong." Mamoru said. "But if one turned evil the other must be able to overpower him. It might have been just a coincidence but…" he sighed sadly. "I do believe grandma always knew uncle would be the one turning evil; although she hoped it wouldn't happen."

"If she knew it why didn't she tell you?" Millerna asked. "It would have saved you a lot of problems, dangers, and deaths."

"Maybe." Yukari stepped in. "But Hitomi's grandma one day said that gifts like those she and Hitomi possessed couldn't be taken lightly. That she couldn't go around telling everyone everything she saw, because it wasn't suppose to be that way. Every time you use that kind of gifts to change someone's future, you'll end up changing everyone's. If you prevent one person from dieing, it's likely another will die in his place, and at the end who were you to decided one of them was more worth living than the other?"

Everyone remained silence at this reflection. When Susumo had spoken about Hitomi maturing a lot in a very short time he had probably forgotten to add himself, Yukari and the rest. They all talked very serious and reflexively, like true leaders of a kingdom. If everyone in Gaea were like them, surely things would be a lot easier.

.---.

Van was sitting on a chair, next to Hitomi's bed, holding her hand. Talking softly to her, telling her everything that had happened in her absence, even when it was highly probable that she wasn't even listening to him, he still talked. He wanted to believe that his voice would wake her up any moment.

"Lord Van…you should really get some rest." Merle whispered to him from the door.

"Thank you for your concern, but no Merle." Van answered. "I said I wasn't going to move from her side until she woke up, and I will keep to that word."

Merle just shook her head and left in silence.

.---.

When she entered the council room they all turned their eyes at her. She just shook her head sadly.

"Come on." Dryden spoke. "We all know it's useless. There's no force in Gaea that will be able to pull Van away from Hitomi."

"It's just that he's killing himself slowly." Merle said almost crying. "He doesn't sleep, he barely eats, and hasn't stepped out of that room, in one week already. He may not see it but if he continues he'll end like Hitomi, or worse."

"I doubt he'll end like my sister." Mamoru interfered. "Because the state in which she is in is special, different from any illness you may know."

"What do you mean?" Selena asked.

They were all curious, specially Millerna; what could Hitomi have something that she, even being a healer, didn't know about?

"My sister isn't like that for the wound on her side." Mamoru said slowly. "She's in what we call a coma state."

"What does that mean?" Allen asked worriedly.

"It means that her body is here, but her mind isn't." Yukari explained. "Her body and mind have in some way split. That's why she still has all vital signs and brain activity, but just won't wake up. She won't until her mind is back, from wherever it is lost."

"What might have provoked it?" Gadeth, the second in command from the Crusade, asked.

"Maybe all the emotions during the battle." Susumo suggested. "It sure wasn't easy for her to fight someone she once called a family, even after all that man did. And the knowledge that so much people depended on her."

"And besides there's the fact that she really believed she would die in that battle." Yukari added. "She really thought that was her destiny."

"At this rate she probably will die." Mamoru murmured sadly.

"Well, it's not that I'm being insensible or anything but, what about the throne?" Dryden asked. "She isn't married or anything."

"Mamoru is the heir." Riha said suddenly.

This got the all surprised.

"Since about a year ago, the counselors told the queen that if she didn't marry soon she would have to abdicate to the throne." Riha explained. "And so she wrote a document, which is signed and sealed, where it is stated that if she goes missing, or if she isn't married by the time the counselors decree her brother Mamoru will take the crown."

"But he isn't married either." Chid commented thoughtfully.

"Well, you weren't married when you became King did you?" Selena asked him.

"That's different, I was seven when that happened." Chid replied.

"And anyway." Mamoru interrupted them. "I may not be married, but I am engaged. If the council decides that I must be married, I will."

"Engaged?" some of them asked. "To who?"

"Me." Riha said shyly.

She didn't know exactly how anyone expected her to ever become a queen, when she was so shy around other people. She had been like that all her life. Even when they offered her the position as Lady of the Court and Advisor to the Queen she doubted, but the queen convinced her. But still she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to become a queen. And even then, she would never leave Mamoru. She loved him, for being him, and not for his position, or money, she had truly fallen in love with Mamoru, since shortly after they arrived to Gaea, when they had helped each other she had become really attached to him. When Mamoru first asked her out she had been really excited about it, and when they began going out regularly she felt as if she was living a dream. She remembered perfectly well the day he had proposed, it had been a few months ago, she had almost fainted when he had kneeled down and asked her to be his wife. But she immediately said yes, there was nothing that she wished more that being the rest of her life next to him, and if that meant leaving her shyness behind and learning to manage herself between royalty, she would do it; she would do whatever was needed for him.

"I just hope she gets better." Merle murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. "For her, and for Lord Van."

.---.

Van reentered Hitomi's room. He had gone looking for something to eat, and listened to his friends' chat. Then, forgetting what he had gone to do, he decided to go back to Hitomi.

"Where are you Hitomi?" he asked. "They say your mind is somewhere else, lost. But I need you here. I can't lose you, not now, not when we finally found each other, after so long. I will never stop wondering why you never came to me in Fanelia, I could have helped you in anything you might need. But that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you have to wake up, to come back here, to me. I know I should have noticed it sooner, all the strange sensations, the familiar feelings I got when being near you; even the reactions the pendant had; I should have known it was you behind that fragile mask. Then maybe I could have had time to tell you how much I love you, to convince you of staying with me; time to make you understand, that without you I just can't live."

He kissed her forehead sweetly, then, reassuring his hold on her hands, he touched the back of one with his forehead.

"I just wish I could go to wherever you are, and find a way of bringing you back." He whispered.

Faintly he noticed the pendant glowing, before all his senses abandoned him and he fell unconscious, with the head over Hotomi's body; still holding her hand.

.---.

When Van opened his eyes he noticed he was standing before the doors of a house, or what once was a house, in ruins, some parts had been burned down and just the ashes remained. And just then he knew that had been Hitomi's house back on Earth, he had no idea how that information had gotten to his mind, but somehow it had. Suddenly he gasped when he noticed someone, a woman, dressed in a blue kimono and carrying a pink fan.

'She looks so much like Hitomi…' Van thought absent-minded.

Just then the girl got to him and bowed graciously.

"Why…?" Van began, not knowing exactly what to ask.

"I'm supposed to bow before a king, am I not?" she asked with a smile.

Van was shocked at this. How could she know what he was!

"My name is Hirome Verou." She said as if reading her mind.

At the sound of that last name Van immediately raised his guard.

"No need to get hostile with me King Van." Hirome said calmly. "I am, indeed, related to Sohjiro Verou, in fact, I am her mother." She sighed with a bit of sadness. "But I am too Hitomi's grandmother."

At the sound of Hitomi's name Van immediately lowered his guard and paid attention to the woman's words.

"You are…" Van was shocked.

"Yes my lord. I am the woman Leon Schezar met a long time ago, and Hitomi is indeed my granddaughter." Hirome nodded.

"You're the one who, according to Verou, said that Hitomi would one day be the most powerful." Van said, it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes I did." Hirome nodded sadly. "I must sadly admit that since that day I already suspected it would end like this. But I had hope in my son, maybe too much, I didn't want to accept the fact that one day he could turn into a murderer, kill his own sister, and many more, just because of his pride."

"Sadly too many innocent people had to pay with their lives." Van added with a sigh.

Hirome nodded, feeling guilty all over again. It wasn't that Van was blaming her, he would never do such a thing, but that didn't stop Hirome from feeling it was all her fault.

"The list of my sins is long indeed." Hirome nodded sadly. "And I must be paying for them for a very long time. But right now, there are more important matters. Like the welfare of my little Hitomi."

This immediately made Van remember why was he there in the first place.

"Follow me." She said, and took the lead.

Van followed the woman through empty streets in a dead silence that chilled him to the bone, there was a thick air around him he didn't like a bit.

Finally Hirome stopped, Van supposed they had reached their destination. When he turned around he noticed he was standing in a big place, with some trees around and solid ground with white lines painted, even with the ruins, ashes and dust that he may have seen on the way, this place seemed have been kept almost intact.

"I recognize this place…" Van whispered, not quite noticing he had talked aloud.

"Of course you do my lord." Hirome nodded. "After all this is the place where you meet my granddaughter, the only place she has made an effort to keep intact in her mind."

'So we are really in her mind.' Van thought.

He had suspected it to be that way, and now it was all confirmed.

"This is the place my granddaughter loves the most, because of the great memories it holds." Hirome continued. "I believe you might find her here. You better convince her of going back with you to Gaea soon, if not, she'll never be able to be back, and neither will you."

"You aren't coming?" Van asked, rather confused.

"No." Hirome shook her head. "I've already broken too many rules by being here, and bringing you too. I can't go on, but you can. It's up to you to save Hitomi's life."

"I swear I will." Van said seriously.

"I know you will, I trust you." Hirome nodded. "You must understand one thing Van Fanel. The wound that was inflicted to my granddaughter isn't enough to kill her, she's strong enough to survive that. But throughout the years she has come to believe that peace will only grace everyone once she's dead. Just when you're able to convince her otherwise you'll be free to return to your bodies, your life."

"What if she doesn't believe me?" Van asked.

"Your bodies will eventually weaken and die, and you'll be forever lost in this little world Hitomi has created in the deep of her mind." Hirome said seriously.

Van nodded, he knew she was being dead serious. He had to go to Hitomi and convince her she must live, convince her that her destiny wasn't to die but to live, back in Gaea, with her brother, her friends, and…him.

"I must depart now." Hirome said suddenly. "May God smile to you today. Good luck."

Van bowed at her, not knowing what else to do.

"Good bye." He muttered, and turned around, entering the place slowly.

.---.

Van walked slowly through the open field, as he did he could remember perfectly well, as if it had been just the previous day, the moment when he had arrived to that strange world, and met that who had become the woman of his life; until he reached some steps, where he noticed a figure sitting, weeping.

"Hitomi?" he called.

Slowly the figure raised its head, it was indeed Hitomi, and at the same time Queen Iris. Both women were the same, it was so obvious to him now, why couldn't he notice before? Just the he noticed the red and puffy eyes, the look of pain in her; and he felt as if his own soul broke in two.

"Va…" she began, her voice almost distant and ethereal, but she interrupted herself, shook her head sadly, and returned to her crying.

"Please Hitomi." He called to her, kneeling next to her figure.

He touched her slowly, as if she were made of a delicate glass that would shatter with any sudden movement; or maybe out of here of having her vanish right before him.

"Hitomi it's me, Van, please…" Van called to her.

He didn't know exactly what to say. Even when Mrs. Hirome had told him what must be done, he didn't know how to do it.

"You can't be Van. " Suddenly Hitomi spoke, slowly. "Because I'm dead, and Van is alive, I gave my life to save him."

"I am Van, and none of us is dead." Van said, and as a way of proving the point he added. "Millerna made sure of that, I'm sure enough you remember Queen Millerna Aston. And indeed, you saved me, and now I'm saving you."

"You can't save me." Hitomi said sadly. "No one can, this is my destiny."

"You once said we each create our own destiny."

"I was wrong when I said that."

"I don't think you were. I believed you then, and since then I've believed in those words, and trusted one day we would find a way of finding each other, and now that we did I won't lose you again."

"Don't you understand? If you are with me you'll die!"

"You are wrong with that Hitomi. It'll be if I'm not with you that I'll die irremediably. I need you to live." He sighed. "So if you insist to remain here and kill yourself, then so be it, I'll stay with you."

"You can't! You'll die then!"

"I don't care. If you want to remain here then I'll stay with you; if you change your mind we can still go back together."

"Go back where?"

"Home. To Gaea."

"What for?"

"For your brother, he needs you, as much as Yukari, and all your friends, and your people."

"Mamoru has Riha, Yukari has Susumo, and I know Mamoru and Riha will be a good king and queen for my people, along with Yukari and Susumo. They don't need me."

"Then do it for me. I need you. Return to me, for me."

"You don't…"

"I do. I don't know how I lived this seven years without you, but I do know I won't be able to do it any longer. So I beg to you. Come back with me, marry me. Be my wife and Fanelia's queen, and live with me for the rest of our lives, together, in peace."

"This is all so perfect. How can I be sure it's not an hallucination, or a dream?"

"Does this feel like an hallucination?"

And just as he finished the question he kissed her fully on the lips. A kiss that seemed to make her react, she slipped her arms around his neck and answered to the kiss with all the feeling she had. That kiss was the most wonderful thing she had felt in her whole life; what she had wished for such a long time.

"Let's go home." He whispered to her, embracing her slim figure tightly.

"Home." She repeated returning the firm embrace.

Just then a warm light enveloped them both, returning them to where they truly belonged.

* * *

I don't have much to say. Except: I hope you can forgive me for being this late but I was rather busy with school work. You see, I'm not too evil, I didn't kill Iris. For those who hadn't yet realized where Hitomi was now you know. 

We're just missing just one final chapter, you shall see it soon (I hope). It is almost finished, just a few details missing.

Please don't forget to review.

See you on the end of this fic!


	7. Love A Dream Come True

**Chapter 7.- Love. A Dream come True.**

A woman dressed in a beautiful white gown with long sleeves that were tight to her arms, and just in her wrists got loose, long to her ankles and with a bit tailing, as well as silver slippers looked at herself in the mirror before her.

"Beautiful…" a woman whispered behind her. "You look just beautiful."

"Thank you Selena." Hitomi told her with a smile. "And thanks to you too Millerna, Merle, Eries, Riha, Yukari, I'm grateful that you're here right now."

"We're grateful too that you're here Hitomi." Millerna said with a smile.

"For a second we feared you wouldn't be coming back." Riha added.

Flashback

Ever so slowly Queen Iris opened her eyes to the world. Sunlight greeted her from the window not far away from her bed.

"Where am I?" she asked, a bit disoriented for a moment.

"Home." A voice answered her.

"Van…" she whispered, almost fearing he would be a figment of her imagination.

"And I won't let you leave me ever again." He added as he kissed her fully on the lips.

Just then, the door opened.

End of Flashback

"I swear I almost fainted the moment I saw Lord Van and you there kissing." Merle said with a smile.

"Well, I did fainted." Yukari said with a smile.

"Right." Merle nodded. "But that was just because of your 'condition'."

Yukari didn't answer at this, she just got her hand to her round belly.

"For when is it due?" Eries asked her.

"I don't know exactly." Yukari answered. "But it's supposed to be in about two months more or so."

"And you already know what it's gonna be?" Selena asked anxiously.

"Yes." Yukari nodded. "It's gonna be a girl, and we'll name her Yuzuki."

"That's an odd name." Merle murmured.

"That's because it's from Mystic Moon." Hitomi stepped in.

"And talking about that, just to remember the shock we all got when we knew you were from Mystic Moon…" Millerna said.

"Nothing compared to what happened once she had awoken and met us all." Selena said.

Flashback

Yukari, Susumo, Mamoru, Riha, Merle, Chid, Millerna, Dryden, Selena, Allen, Gadeth, and all the crew of the Crusade were sitting on the chairs in the council room in the moment Van entered accompanied by whom, until less than two weeks ago, they knew as 'Queen Iris Kanza'.

It had been almost two weeks since the battle with General Sohjiro Verou and his men. The week before Mamoru had been named King, as his sister couldn't take care of the kingdom, and was to marry Riha in a few days. The previous days 'Iris' had remained in her room most of the time, recovering from the physical injuries of the battle, and only allowed her brother, Yukari and Van in her room to talk with her.

Most of the time Hitomi preferred to be alone with Van, their friends knew there was something serious going on between those two, although their suspicions were running over other lines.

"I believe I owe you a quite few explanations." The former queen began as she stood in front of them.

Van sat down on his place, but Iris preferred to stay on her feet.

"First of all I must say I'm deeply sorry for any trouble I may have caused you." She began. "It was never my intention to do such a thing. I know what that my way of doing things wasn't exactly the best, but I believed I was doing it to protect you, to save you from going through another war."

"And you had to sacrifice yourself and go into the war all alone?" Allen asked, a bit hurt.

"I know it was wrong, that's why I'm asking for your forgiveness." Iris said with teary eyes. "I just wanted to help."

"We could have helped you to, if we just had known." Allen replied, a bit colder than he had intended.

Slowly a few tears began spilling down Iris's eyes.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Van stood up violently, yelling at Allen. "You don't know what she's been through."

"And you do?" Allen retorted.

"Yes I do." Van said seriously.

Everyone stood silent at that. Not knowing what to say.

End of Flashback

.---.

"I had never imagined anyone capable of doing such a thing." Dryden suddenly said.

Him, Allen, Chid, Gadeth, Susumo and Mamoru were helping Van in getting his clothes straighten out. He was wearing a something that looked like a dark-red suit, along with the double-speck jacket, and black boots.

And meanwhile they remembered what had happened in that time.

"When you said you knew what she had been through we first believed you meant that you, as most of us, had heard what had happened to her back on Mystic Moon." Susumo commented. "Not that you had actually lived it."

"When I was with her, in her room, I noticed her physical recovery was wonderful, really fast." Van explained. "Maybe it had to do with Millerna attending her, or all those medicines they have in that kingdom." He sighed. "But I also knew that even if her physical recovery was well, in mind and soul she was still broken."

Flashback

Hitomi laid on her side, above the bed, crying her eyes out. Van was kneeling next to the bed, holding her hand, and embracing her each moment he could, but it was just not enough.

'No matter how well Millerna says her recovery is going, deep inside she's still bleeding, and not literally.' Van thought. 'If I could just do something for her.'

"There is something you can do King Van." An ethereal voice told him.

Van didn't have any problems this time to recognize Hirome Verou. And even when Hitomi was supposed to be the psychic, she was just too distressed to notice anything at the moment.

"What can I do to help her?" Van asked.

Hirome didn't answer for a moment.

"You said there was a way of helping Hitomi." Van said getting impatient. "Tell me what is it, tell me dammit!"

"There is a way." Hirome finally spoke. "Although it's difficult, and very dangerous."

"Explain yourself." Van said.

"The problem with Hitomi is that there's too much pain within her soul for her to bear." Hirome explained. "If she doesn't release at least half of it soon, she'll die irremediably.

"No." Van said firmly, holding Hitomi's hand tighter. "I just got her back, I'm not gonna lose her again."

"You would really help my granddaughter, even risking your own mental health?"

"Yes." There was no doubt in his voice. "I'll do whatever is needed for her."

"As I said, she needs to get rid of half of the pain she feels internally, but even if she wants, she can't just let it go that easily." Hirome explained. "That pain must go somewhere. You understand what I mean?"

"Yes. If I accept she'll pass half the pain she's feeling to me. Then we'll both be able to help each other heal."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy my lord. It's a miracle Hitomi has endured so much, but even then, she has her psychic powers to help her a bit, while you have none. We don't know how your mind might take such a blast. Just half of it might be worse on you than how the full package is on her."

"I don't care the risks. If it helps her I'll do it. Besides, I know she'll be next to me."

Hirome was taken aback by such decision in the young man's voice and eyes. It was true that he was the perfect match for her granddaughter.

"Then so be it." Hirome said.

There was a small glow, first on Hirome's hands, and then on Van's and Hitomi's, the hands they had together. And then Van could feel it, it was as if he had just been hit by a ton of bricks; all the images, sounds, feelings, everything fell into his mind in a whirlwind of power that left him without breath.

And after all the tornado, it all went black.

End of Flashback

'I was unconscious for one whole day.' Van was thinking as he put on his gloves. 'And then woke up to her beautiful face.'

.---.

'I almost died when I saw him laying there, on the floor, unconscious.' Hitomi was thinking at the same time.

Riha and Millerna where helping her with the makeup.

Flashback

"Van…please wake up…Van…" Hitomi repeated over and over again.

It had been a great effort for her to get Van over the bed where she slept. It was big enough for both of them, and so she had been laying there, waiting for him to wakeup. She had even stopped her other friends from getting in the room, out of fear for them seeing the state in which Van was.

"Van…wake up…please…" Hitomi begged taking his hands in hers.

And suddenly, movement. Van's eyelids opened slowly. A pair of red-maroon orbs meeting a pair of tear-stained green ones.

"What…" Hitomi began, a bit confused.

There was something in Van's eyes that called her attention.

"Hitomi…" Van whispered.

And then she knew it. In Van's eyes, and in his voice, there was the same pain that flooded her, it was now reflected in him.

"What have you done?" Hitomi asked worriedly.

"Helped you." Van replied.

He was still dizzy, so much emotions, above all the pain; they were too much for him; it was taking him a great mental effort, and all his will not to collapse.

"You could have died for doing that." Hitomi said, she tried to be mad at him, but was more worried.

"So could have you." Van replied with a half-forced smile.

"This was my fate, not yours."

"You once said we each make our destiny. I decided this would be mine. To help the woman I love carry on."

Hitomi began crying, but not because of the pain of her memories, but because of the joy and love she was feeling.

"Am I really worth it?" she asked.

Van was a bit puzzled at her question.

"All the risks." She continued. "All the pain, all the tears. Am I really worth it?"

"You're worth every single bit of it." Van answered. "I love you Hitomi."

"And I love you too, Van." She said, embracing him.

End of Flashback

When Hitomi got out of her memories she noticed Yukari had just finished combing her hair into a tight bun with a few curls loose.

"You look wonderful!" Yukari said.

"But we're still missing the veil." Selena added taking it out.

As Eries held a fine silver tiara.

"I just can't believe you're finally marrying Lord Van." Merle said with a huge smile. "It's just so wonderful!"

Hitomi looked at herself in the full-length mirror and nodded, life was just turning out to be so wonderful for her and everyone she loved.

"I love you Van…" she whispered to the wind.

.---.

"I love you Van…"

Hitomi's voice reached Van's ears.

"And I love you too Hitomi." Van whispered back.

"Hello…" Susumo called with a half-smile. "Gaea to Van…"

"Eh?" He asked confused.

Van got out of his trance-like state to be surrounded by his 'friends' who seemed to find something in him funny enough to be smirking.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"The way you talk to her, even when she's not here." Allen said with a smirk.

"Don't worry Van, you'll be marrying her soon." Mamoru told him, helping him get the cape into place. "And then nothing will tear you apart."

Van nodded.

There was nothing he wished more than to make Hitomi his wife and queen of Fanelia. That was all he had been wishing since six and a half months ago when he discovered it was her under the 'Queen Iris' façade.

'I still remember the day I told my advisors I would be marrying her.' Van returned to the memories of the previous months.

Flashback

It had been two months since King Mamoru's and Queen's Riha's wedding. They were now the rightful governors of Kizanka, and things seemed to be fairly well for them. It had taken very little time for them to recover from the battle, and find a place for all of those who had accepted their protection. And with some advise from his sister Mamoru was doing wonderfully as king. And even when Riha had been saying for so long she wasn't ready for such a responsibility she was doing just as wonderful.

Finally this day Van had arranged for Mamoru, Riha and his beloved to come to Fanelia, he had summoned the advisors to a meeting, he had an important announcement to make.

"I'm getting married." He said.

Some of the advisors where taken aback by this. They had insisted their king for so long, and he had refused, that now that he accepted it was just such a surprise for them.

"To whom my lord if we may know?" one of the eldest advisors asked.

"To Lady Hitomi." Van answered. "The woman I have loved since the Great War, more than Seven years ago."

Very few advisors knew who their king was talking about and were scandalized by the idea.

"But my lord." One of them said. "You can't make her your wife, she's not eligible."

"And why, if I may know Lord Deveru, is that?" Van asked, not satisfied with the comment.

"She's of no royal blood my lord." Deveru explained. "And the law says…"

"I am the law Lord Deveru." Van interrupted him. "And I'm capable of marrying whomever I wish."

"But…" another advisor began.

"But if it settles your thoughts." Van continued. "I have to say she is of royal blood."

This statement left them all with a confused look on their faces.

Just then there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in." Van ordered.

"The door opened to let pass a royal couple.

"Their Royal Highnesses King Mamoru Kanza, and Queen Riha Kanza, from Kizanka." The herald announced.

The advisors immediately stood up and bowed to the royal couple.

"What brings you here, my lord, my lady?" one of them asked.

"We're here, under invitation of Lord Van." Riha said with a calm voice.

It was true that in a very short time she had learned the ways of the court. Even if she never stopped being humble, she had learned how to get others to respect her as the queen.

"It's an honor my lord, to come here and give you the hand of my sister in marriage." Mamoru's words were slow and serene.

And the reaction from the advisors was instant.

"But you said…" Lord Deveru began.

Just then another woman entered the room. Dressed in a gorgeous strapless lavender dress that reached her ankles, with a white sash on her waist, pink sandals, and her hair waving behind her in a loose ponytail.

Mamoru took the hand of the newcomer, and linked it with that of Van.

"I give you my blessings." Mamoru said with a smile to both of them.

"Be happy." Riha added.

The couple nodded happily.

"May I introduce to you ladies and gentlemen of the council, my bride, and Fanelia's to-be-queen." Van said seriously. "Princess Hitomi Iris Kanza, from Kizanka."

The shock was evident on everyone's faces. Until, one by one, they all began bowing to her, their future queen.

End of Flashback

'I think I have never seen them so shocked about anything.' Van thought. 'Not even in all the times I repeated to them I wouldn't marry.' He laughed inside. 'And talking about marrying…'

He looked at himself in the mirror. He really looked like all the king he was. Normally he didn't like to be so dressed up, but the situation required it.

"There." Dryden said finally. "You're ready."

"Everyone is already outside." Kurama told them peeking inside the room.

"You ready?" Chid asked with a smile.

"As much as I'll ever be." Van said nervously.

"Don't worry." Allen told him, poking him in the ribs. "You'll do fine. That is, if Hitomi doesn't run away."

"Allen!" Dryden, Susumo and Chid scolded him.

Allen just smiled.

"Don't worry." Mamoru said to Allen. "My sister would never run away. It's been her dream to marry you for so long."

"I know." Van said calmly. "It's been my dream too. And now we'll make it true together."

.---.

"Come on, hurry up!" Merle kept saying over and over.

"Stop it Merle, I'm already too nervous." Hitomi told her pacing around the room.

"I know, but if you don't hurry you'll be late for your own wedding, I don't think anyone would like that, especially not you, would you?" Merle asked.

Hitomi was ready, or so it looked, inside she was shaking so badly, she feared she would faint any moment.

Just then the bells chimed, it was her cue to enter the temple.

"Come on." Merle pushed her to the entrance.

Hitomi was really shaking, but the moment she saw Van, all dressed up, smiling at her, waiting in the front of the room, everything else seemed to vanish.

'We have been trough so much to get to this point.' Hitomi was thinking as she finally got to the front.

'We have waited for so long.' Van thought as he took her hand and the ceremony began.

The ceremony was a blur to them, they didn't really seem to care much about it. The rings, material proof of their compromise; the vows, a talked-out promise of loyalty and devotion to one-another; and the kiss, a seal for their eternal love.

"We have finally made our dream true…" Hitomi whispered to Van as they embraced.

"Together." Van added.

And they kissed again.

**The End. **

* * *

Here it is! My first Escaflowne Fanfic finished. I hope you liked it. The part of the war, and the destruction of Earth I did it thinking on how we're slowly killing our planet, and what could end up happening. Although obviously we don't have the 'get away' Hitomi/Iris gave some of the people. 

I would like to know what you think of my stories. You may leave a review, or send me an e-mail, (the mail appears on my profile).

I hope to see you in the next fic.

Thank you.


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